I hate peas. It’s not the taste, it’s the texture. When I was a child, I would dutifully eat my peas. However, they would lodge in my gullet, my throat reflexively rejecting the fluorescent squishy spheres. I would chase the peas around my plate hoping, in vain, that the peas would tire of my harassment and evaporate from my plate.

Without fail, my mother would chastise me, “There are children starving in Ethiopia … we don’t waste food.”

My reply was the same as children across the generations: “I would be happy to box up my peas and send them to Ethiopia.”

This scenario has played out among children in America for almost 80 years. You can pinpoint your generation by the specific country whose children were starving for America’s unwanted vegetables.

“We don’t waste food,” may be a mother’s mantra, but food waste is a real issue in our food system.

During the pandemic of 2020, the flaws of our system were laid bare. The most poignant to me as a cattle producer was that 25% of the beef purchased for restaurant and institutional use was wasted. When the beef supply was shifted from restaurant to grocery stores for home preparation, that 25% waste was eliminated. The result was an oversupply of beef in relation to this new demand. If you remember, the price of fed cattle dropped in 2020. Restaurants have since reopened and the system has returned to equilibrium, but a new question remains: What about the food waste?

The USDA estimates that 30% to 40% of all food is wasted. A small part of food waste is from trimming as part of food preparation. Some waste comes from food prepared in excess and then thrown away. Some food waste occurs with an expiration date. When I was a bachelor cooking for myself, about one out of every three meals was a failed experiment … I’m sure that accounts for some food waste.

How significant is the food waste problem? The USDA explains four reasons food waste is a problem: Food that is currently wasted could feed families in need, reducing food waste can save money, resources could be conserved, and food rotting in landfills emits greenhouse gases. The conundrum is that one man’s food waste is another farmer’s increased demand to support higher commodity prices. Do you, as a farmer, see the dilemma?

Are you familiar with the mythological concept of a cornucopia? In Greek mythology, the cornucopia was a horn of plenty … a constant flow of abundant food. The seal of the great state of Idaho features not one but two cornucopias. And this is fitting because Idaho agriculture produces more food than Idahoans eat. This was evident in COVID-19 when Idaho farmers had to dump milk and produce that had supply chain disruptions.

This mythological cornucopia is no longer mythology. Without planting, cultivating or harvest, most Americans today have an endless and abundant food supply. It may even be a step beyond what the Hellenists could imagine because most Americans don’t even process or cook the abundance they consume. The cornucopia that is our modern food system is unfathomable to our ancestors.

You could take this food waste/abundance discussion one step further if we include our pets. The 163 million American cats and dogs consume 10 million tons of feed every year. Pets in the U.S. consume the same amount of meat as the human population of France, according to a new pet food company that wants to feed your pets insects. Is that 10 million tons part of the food waste problem or part of the solution?

American consumers have the unique ability to find fault with a food system that gives us full mouths and paunchy bellies. It is surprising how easy it is to complain with your mouth full.

There are some real solutions to this food waste problem. Many restaurants and institutions will donate excess prepared food to those in need. If a few tax breaks could expand this solution, I would be in favor of those tax breaks. Composting food waste is a popular solution. Feeding animals byproducts, trimmings and other food waste is an obvious solution. Creating a system more economical than throwing food waste into landfills will ultimately fix the food waste problem.

As a cattle rancher, I always cringe when I see a cranky child throw his hamburger on the ground. I know the effort involved in creating that quarter-pound of beef. My hackles are raised even higher when an adult only eats two bites of their steak. Perhaps a pea farmer should harbor that same ire for me as I methodically chase my peas around the plate. Instead, we in agriculture should be proud of creating the most abundant food system in the history of mankind. If that abundance leads to a little food waste, that may be a feature, not a flaw. And listen to your mother … eat your vegetables.