Food waste is now the number one item in our nation’s landfills, the Washington Post reported today:

In the United States, ‘farm to fork’ has become ‘farm to dumpster’ as American farms, processors, manufacturers, grocers, restaurants and homes increasingly waste food.

Every day, America wastes enough food to fill the Rose Bowl stadium. From farms to processors, from retailers to restaurants and homes, food is lost at every step of the way. According to one government study, 40 percent of food grown or raised domestically is not eaten.

Research is underway to help cut back on waste, such as “food tattoos” that tell consumers when food is spoiled and enzyme sensors to tell stores when fruit is ripe and needs to go on sale.

But the main solution offered to keep food out of the trash is to put them in the compost. The article’s author, Jonathon Bloom, ended with this positive note on moving away from the landfill:

Even with these growing efforts, according to the EPA, about 97 percent of U.S. food scraps end up in a landfill or incinerator. Still, recycling was once a radical idea, and today, more than half of Americans can do it curbside.

Haven’t farmers been composting for generations? After all, there’s no such thing as trash pick-up when you live in the country.