Often when we throw out leftovers, or walk through a grocery store with many unsold items set to expire the next day, we don’t think anything of it. To many people, food waste is just another part of life; however, it is actually a major problem which is growing every year. Wasted food is defined as food not used for its intended purpose; common examples include uneaten prepared food and plate waste. While some uneaten food is donated to feed people, much of it ends up in landfills. The amount of food wasted each year is great, as according to the EPA, “ about 63 million tons of wasted food were generated in the commercial, institutional, and residential sectors, with about 32 percent being managed by animal feed, bio-based materials/biochemical processing, codigestion/anaerobic digestion, composting, donation, land application, and sewer/wastewater treatment” in 2018. So, just how much food is 63 million tons? According to an estimate from The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2011, about ⅓ of all food produced for human consumption is wasted. Food waste is a large global issue and continues to be pervasive to today.
In order to combat the issue of food waste, there are some methods that can be employed in our day-to-day lives. For instance, to help quell food waste at home, you can pay extra attention to what you buy in the grocery store; do not buy in bulk unless you know you can consume all of the items before they go bad. Learn how to store produce correctly, so it lasts longer and less food has to be thrown away. Plan what you are going to eat during the week before you go shopping, so none of your food goes to waste. If we all try to employ these habits in our daily lives and are a little more conscious when it comes to food waste, we can help to minimize a major sustainability issue.
https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/sustainable-management-food-basics
https://www.epa.gov/recycle/preventing-wasted-food-home
I agree that food waste is a major problem as there are many people across the country and the globe that are starving. Even here at Union, I can only imagine how much food is wasted at dining halls, such as Upper. There is always so much left over food that is not consumed that is eventually just thrown away.
Yes, I wonder how we can prevent wasting food at an institution like Union. I think it is very difficult to gauge how many people will be coming to the dining hall that day, which makes it very difficult to figure out how much food should be prepared
Food waste is a major issue so I completely agree with what you have said. I wish that there was an easy solution to prevent food waste. I think one of the best things that we can do in our daily lives is compost food instead of throwing it away.
This is a very informed post. Food waste is not only a individual but also an issue on the institutional level. we need to tackle food waste in spaces such as supermarket or restaurant