Background Information:
Many people don’t realize how much food they are wasting daily and this is a cause for concern. There are two groups of wasted food, which are food loss and food waste. Food loss “incorporates any edible food that goes uneaten at any stage”, which includes “food that’s uneaten in homes and stores...crops left in the field, food that spoils in transportation, and all other food that doesn’t make it to a store.” While food waste is a more specific category under food loss, food waste refers to “food discarded by retailers due to color or appearance and plate waste by consumers”. When looking at the big picture, you begin to realize just how much edible food is lost. Much of this edible food could be used and not wasted.
Causes:
For food waste in retail businesses, much of this food waste results from perishable foods such as bakery goods or prepared meals. When retail businesses are unable to sell all of their products before they turn expired, this results in a large amount of food waste. Many “wasteful practices in the retail industry are often viewed as good business strategies”, which leads to a perpetual cycle of more food waste developing. Consumers tend to buy more food than they will actually eat or cook with, leading to more food waste. At restaurants, food waste is developed because of “oversized portions, inflexibility of chain store management and extensive menu choices.” Buffets are especially wasteful because the food “cannot legally be reused or donated due to health code restrictions”, so there is no other option but to throw out all this extra food at the end of the day.
Statistics:
“Of the estimated 125 to 160 billion pounds of food that goes to waste every year, much of it is perfectly edible and nutritious.”
The US Environmental Protection Agency “estimates that in 2018, about 68 percent of the wasted food we generated--or about 42.8 million tons--ended up in landfills or combustion facilities.”
“In the United States, food waste is estimated at between 30-40 percent of the food supply.”
“Approximately 133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth of food in 2010”
“Approximately 40 to 50 percent of food waste...happens at [the] level of the consumer.”
Efforts/Ways to Reduce Food Waste:
The United States Department of Agriculture has plans to reduce the amount of the country’s food waste by half by the year 2030. Some ways to produce less food waste include carefully planning out a grocery list to only buy what is needed, storing food better to maximize the freshness, use up leftovers and food scraps when cooking, composting your food, and improving the storage of food. Another way to help is to donate safe, untouched food to food banks so the excess food is still put into good use. There are always ways to improve our lifestyles, but we just need to try.
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