Global food waste is the food that is discarded, lost, or uneaten around the globe. Global food waste is a huge issue and affects the world socially, economically, environmentally, and politically. These issues need to be taken into consideration in able to make certain that everyone has a sustainable future.
What are some causes of food waste?
Most food waste occurs due to society throwing away leftovers and unused ingredients. Stores won’t sell produce that is unappealing and a few days old and they will dispose of their food. Also, farmers tend to dump 20 to 40 percent of their harvest because of this same reason, the consumers consider the food “ugly” therefore they won’t buy it so it is disposed of. In developing countries wasted food will rot either in a field or food market for reasons such as insufficient refrigeration. In the United States alone we throw away almost $750 billion dollars worth of food alone, while 870 million people go hungry each day. Not only is this food waste a problem for the people but it affects things like land, energy, fertilizers, and water. All of these things are lost while producing food which will end up as waste in the end. All of this waste can’t continue because we won’t be able to meet our future food demands. This is an issue of sustainability and we need to have resources available in the future.
What is the solution?
The solution is quite simple- to feed the people. If we focus on taking the left over food from farmers markets, restaurants, or even places like college dining halls and reuse it than this problem wouldn't be as bad as it is. Also, we can reduce food waste in our own homes. There are many organizations that will volunteer to collect food from these places and give them to people in need. For example a food recovery organization, Gather Baltimore, volunteer and collect 15 tons of fresh produce that would've otherwise been used as waste and give it away to those in need. This is just one way we can stop this rising global issue.
My view:
I think this issue is one that is overlooked. People think that throwing away and wasting food is a part of life, yet it is affecting our lives in many ways. I think that we are uneducated on this issue and it should be brought up in the classroom more often. I am interested on this topic because I think that it’s sad how much food goes to waste globally when there are billions of people going hungry each and every day. This isn’t how the world should be, we should be able to feed our people and no one should be starving to death
Sources:
http://grist.org/food/global-food-waste-explained-with-five-tomatoes/
http://grist.org/food/the-solution-to-americas-food-waste-problem-feed-people/
http://www.imeche.org/knowledge/themes/environment/global-food
http://www.unric.org/en/food-waste?layout=default
