The value of usable groceries that wind up in landfills or other disposal sites is almost $50 billion.

More than half the food produced in Canada is wasted and the average kitchen tosses out hundreds of dollars worth of edibles every year, says a study researchers are calling the first of its kind.

“It’s a lot of food,” said Lori Nikkel of Second Harvest, the Toronto-based group working to reduce food waste that commissioned the study.

“We waste more food than we consume.”

The study released Thursday is the world’s first to measure food waste using data from industry and other sources instead of estimates, said Martin Gooch of Value Chain Management International, which conducted the study.

The report, funded largely by the Walmart Foundation, concludes 58 per cent of Canadian food production is wasted.

That includes unavoidable waste such as animal bones. But a solid one-third of the waste — more than 11 million tonnes — could be recovered.

This article of the Calgary Herald has more information.

Perhaps Canada should follow in the footsteps of France and ban food waste from supermarkets. Or UK and Denmark’s example of opening Food Waste Recovery Supermarkets!

There is some great work being done locally, like Leftover Foundation out of Calgary, Alberta, but this study shows there is lots more to do!