[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 14, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H594-H595]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             END HUNGER NOW

  (Mr. McGOVERN asked and was given permission to address the House

[[Page H595]]

for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, up to 40 percent of the food produced in 
our country goes to waste. Food waste packs our landfills, increases 
harmful emissions that contribute to our climate crisis, and drives up 
costs for producers, manufacturers, and consumers alike.
  With 44 million of our fellow citizens struggling with food 
insecurity, it is clear we need a better nationwide strategy to divert 
food that is perfectly good to eat from landfills and to the plates of 
hungry families.
  I am grateful for the efforts of U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
Environmental Protection Agency, and the Food and Drug Administration 
for their work in leading an interagency task force to tackle this very 
issue.
  Their work, coming out of the 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, 
Nutrition, and Health, has resulted in a comprehensive Draft National 
Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics.
  The strategy, which I ask all of my colleagues to read, details how 
each and every one of us, from citizens to government agencies, can do 
our part to reduce food waste as we work to end hunger now.

                          ____________________