It’s hard to imagine the oft-cited statistic “40 percent of everything raised or grown is not in fact eaten.” But Just Eat It, a new documentary by Peg Leg Films, illuminates the prevalence of food waste by exploring why it occurs in the first place. Canadian filmmakers Grant Baldwin and Jen Rustemeyer chronicle their experience to quit the grocery store, and to live only on discarded food. 

“When we started the project I expected to find some waste. And I really had prepared myself to see it," Baldwin stated in an interview. "But when you're actually standing in front of something like that it was totally different."

The issue of food waste has been covered before in films like Dive! by director Jeremy Seifert, but this eye-opening take highlights how food waste is the biggest roadblock in feeding the world's population. After all, as National Geographic states in Food Features, “Of all of the options for boosting food availability, tackling waste would be one of the most effective.” Watching Just Eat It is a good start.

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