LONDON (CBSDC) – Half of the world’s food is going to waste, including in countries such as the United States.

According to CBS News, a British study from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers has found that up to 50 percent of the food produced throughout the world each year winds up as a part of a landfill. The problem is just as real in the U.S., where the percentage of wasted food is upwards of 50 percent. England has a similar problem, as $16 billion worth of food in Britain homes is wasted.

“You’ve got the cultural issue that it’s good to over-provide for your guests, over-provide for your family and to only have the very, very best and throw away the worst,” Colin Brown, engineering director at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, told CBS News.

The researchers from IME found that American stores that push for consumers to buy more of a product than they really need because it’s cheaper contributes to the waste problem. Other potential problems include poor practices of storing and transporting food, according to CBS News.

The study concluded that changes need to be made now in order to keep resources afloat by 2075.