Celebrity chefs join campaign against US food waste
The American House Agriculture Committee is to hold its first hearing concerned with the 79 billion pounds of food waste created each year in the US. Celebrity chefs will attend the hearing and will call on legislators to create laws to counter the problem. The chefs will also ask for support for a bill proposed by Representative Chellie Pingree of Maine that is seeking clearer labelling of food with regard to use-by dates. It is estimated that $218bn is spent in the US each year on producing and transporting wasted food.

Celebrities often land on Capitol Hill to testify about world atrocities, advocate medical research or defend the rights of musicians. Now, the chefs are coming to press for new food policies.

On Wednesday, the House Agriculture Committee, typically consumed with things like farm subsidies and food stamps, will hold its first full hearing concerning the roughly 70 billion pounds of food wasted annually in the United States.

Hunger groups are increasingly looking at ways to rescue excess food from its inevitable path to garbage piles, get it into low-income communities and come up with incentives to prevent waste throughout the system. Sometimes, for instance, carrots that are misshapen and not great for markets or restaurants simply go to waste.

According to the Food Policy Action Education Fund, American consumers, businesses and farms spend $218 billion a year on growing, processing, transporting and throwing out food that is never eaten.