mr. chairman. welcome to today's witnesses and congressmen, appreciate your leadership on this issue. probably not the only one who finds the term, sell by a best buy confusing. this confusion leads to a lot of food waste we see in this country. i'm glad were looking at this issue today. american consumers are increasingly less connected to the farm and that's where food comes from. i think a lot of people no longer view food is valuable. when i was growing up, my mom used every part of the animal. so that is no longer the cas food waste has increased. producers have done such a good job of creating an abundant food supply that a lot of folks do not think twice about tossing out food that may not look perfect or is suppressed and the best buy or sell by date is stamped on the box, whatever that means. this is a challenge but i also think also think it presents an opportunity for production in agriculture. many have no problem throwing food away, many americans americans are struggling to