Recovering food discards as animal feed is not new. In many areas, hog farmers have traditionally relied on food discards to sustain their livestock. Diverting food to feed animals reduces disposal costs because farmers or companies will often take food scraps for less money than landfill hauling fees. Appropriate excess food may also be provided to zoos for use as feed for select animals, based upon the determination of each zoo's animal feeding experts. Additionally, some companies convert food discards into commercial animal feed and pet food.