If you believe that fruitcake your aunt just sent is the biggest culinary catastrophe of the holiday season, think again.

It's actually the food you're not eating that's the most harmful to our world. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that roughly 35 million tons of food are thrown out every year by Americans, and much of that is during the holidays, when temperatures dip and our stomachs expand.

That's up from 12.2 million tons of food thrown out by Americans in 1960, according to the EPA.

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The Los Angeles Times reports that we're now throwing away 15 to 40 percent of our food, and that number increases on holidays, when we're known to overindulge. Worldwide, about one-third of the food produced is never eaten, the Washington Post reports.

According to the USDA, Americans' share of that waste amounts to some $371 per person annually, which they say is enough to buy about 21 whole turkeys for everyone in the country. And when you think about the environmental impact created by all that food grown just to be wasted, it can be an alarming revelation.

"You might just as well scrape $4 or $5 or $8 in cash right into the garbage every day, because that’s what food waste can cost a family," says the L.A. Times. "Or if you prefer this parallel, it’s like buying 10 gallons of gas, putting seven or eight gallons in your tank, and then yanking out the nozzle and letting the other two or three gallons just run all over the pavement."

The USDA has offered some tips for cutting down on food waste:

Before you go shopping, take stock of what you already have. There's no easier way to waste food than buying a product that is already in your refrigerator.Devote an "Eat Me First" bin in the fridge to items that will spoil soon, so they don't get pushed to the back and forgotten.Plan holiday meals well in advance so you're not buying products that won't be used in the meal's preparation.Send guests home with leftovers. You might not be able to finish half that turkey before the meat goes bad, but your guests are always willing to help.If you don't have guests, keep in mind that leftovers can last for three to four days when refrigerated, or up to a year when frozen.

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