Jean Buzby

Dr. Jean Buzby is the USDA Food Loss and Waste Liaison in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of the Chief Economist. Prior to this position, she worked either directly or indirectly for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (USDA/ERS) since 1990. Prior to moving into management in April 2013 as the Branch Chief in the Diet, Safety, and Health Economics (DSHE) branch in the Food Economics Division (FED), she took on critical responsibilities as an Agricultural Economist that required leadership, oversight, and accountability in three primary research areas: food safety, food consumption, and food loss and waste. Dr. Buzby’s food safety research included estimating the costs of foodborne illness, analyzing the legal incentives for firms to produce safer food, and exploring international trade and food safety issues. She has conducted research on food loss in the United States for almost two decades and has published estimates of the amount and value of food loss at the retail and consumer levels in the United States. Dr. Buzby’s first publication on food loss and waste was a 2002 Report to Congress on "Plate Waste in School Nutrition Programs." She was on detail at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for 5 months in FY20 as a Senior Policy Analyst in the Resource Conservation and Sustainability Division.