Australians spend more than $720 billion in groceries every year, but those born in the 1980s or early ‘90s are likely to be wasting about 20 per cent of their weekly food purchases.
In fact, on a national scale we throw out an average 14pc of our groceries, which equates to $10b wasted annually.
A national financial health barometer survey by online banker RaboDirect, has found Australian families are wasting about $1100 a year, with Generation Y shoppers the worst culprits.
Generation Y consumers also admit they know least about farming and food production, particularly if they come from NSW or the ACT.
The survey of 2300 financial decision makers aged from 16 to 65 found NSW has the most wasteful consumers overall, and also those who spend the most on their weekly shop.
About 18pc of the state’s respondents said they binned more than a fifth of their their food purchases each week.
In Sydney the average family is spending $163 a week on groceries, while Canberra and Queensland families average $154/week and regional NSW $152.
RaboDirect found consumers living in capital cities were generally more wasteful than those in regional areas, while shoppers who believed there would always be an abundance of natural resources were most likely to waste food.
A staggering 75pc of those surveyed in NSW and the ACT confessed they knew “hardly anything” or just “a little bit” about farming and food production.
“Australia’s abundance of food seems to have made a surprising number of people, particularly in city areas, oblivious to the resources, energy and passion required for food production,” said RaboDirect’s Australia and New Zealand head of market research, Glenn Wealands.
He said the fact food production appeared much less appreciated than the way it may have been 50 years ago was possibly a reflection of so much variety now being available at comparatively lower prices.
While a third of “Baby Boomer generation respondents felt they knew quite a bit about food production, levels of understanding slumped to just 15pc for Generation X and Y age groups (born between 1960 and 1995).
Typical of the disconnect between consumers and food production reality was the fact most shoppers estimated an individual meal required less than 50 litres of water to produce.
In fact, a single meal is more likely to require about 1000 litres of water to grow, process and prepare - a truth recognised by just 3pc of respondents.
However, about 80pc of respondents agreed farming and food production were highly important for Australia’s economy.
“The 20pc who didn’t understand the value of agriculture in the domestic economy or as an export earner were those most likely waste food - they threw out about 25pc of their purchases,” Mr Wealands said.
He was surprised Gen Y consumers were so wasteful with food, given they tended to be good savers, socially aware and optimistic thinkers.
“It seems thinking about agriculture just isn’t on their busy lifestyle radar,” he said.
“If every household reduced weekly waste by just one third we’d not only collectively save almost $4b each year for our own back pockets, but we’d contribute to long-term food and water security for future generations.”
The RaboDirect financial health barometer has also noted Australians who feel informed about the value of food production and take steps to reduce wastage tend to be considerably less financially stressed than those who are wasteful.
Mr Wealands said the barometer’s new Food and Farming Report aimed to encourage Australians to to review their food spending and waste habits to make positive changes for the future.
“This goes beyond the obvious benefit to the hip pocket,” Mr Wealands said.
“When we reduce the amount of food that’s wasted, or reaches landfill, there are significant environmental, economic and social benefits to be realised.
“These findings have generated quite a bit of reflective discussion about the broader environmental cost of food wastage.
“It becomes especially relevant when you realise Australia will have a population of 9b in 35 years - a 75pc increase - and there’ll be a lot less arable land and water to grow our food.”
Tasmanian families rate as Australia’s least wasteful food shoppers according to the survey, which also found they spend the least on groceries ($136/week) and have the best fruit and vegetable buying habits.
Victorian and Queensland families also rated strongly on fruit and vegetable purchases, while NSW, ACT and South Australian consumers were least likely to make healthy grocery choices.
Meanwhile, those who wasted more than half their food each week were more likely to indicate they “always feel like they’re in the red or need to scrimp and save to make ends meet”.