College Food : The Harmful Effects Of Food Waste

college student wastes 142 lbs of food per year, and with 20.5 million students in the US, the

The book, American Wasteland: How American Throw Away Nearly Half of Its Food, written by Jonathan Bloom, deeply describes the situation of food waste in America. The author, Bloom, starts off the book by mentioning that each day America squanders enough food tone fill up the Rose Bowl, the football stadium in Pasadena, California (xi). Bloom even brings out a specific number to prove that how much food were wasted in the United States, which is 160 billion pounds annually (xii). From that description and figure, we can see that food waste problem is really serious today.

The article “Waste Not” by Elizabeth Royte was published in March of 2016 in National Geographic Magazine. It depicts the wastefulness of the food industry and shows the path of food from field to consumers’ homes. During the article the story focuses on Tristram Stuart; a food utilizing activist and naturalist, who is gathering wasted food for a food conservation event for the public. Stuart visits many different farms and markets to receive food that is not desirable. Throughout the world nearly one third of food that is grown is thrown away or wasted due to consumer needs and wants. This means that because there is a need and want for good quality food products that not only meet food eatable standards but also

The USDA claims that each year, 25.9 million tons of America’s food is thrown away, the equivalent to a quarter of the total amount produced. Nationally, the wasted food is a damaging financial setback, amounting to $1 billion just to get rid of during a time of ascending food prices, nonetheless (Oliver, 2007). Food waste has skyrocketed since 1970 at an astonishing 50% increase rate, yet according to the FAO, one-sixth of America doesn’t get enough to eat.

In his writing, he mentions how college students waste food because it’s their parent’s money, basically saying that college students are selfish because they throw away fresh food knowing it’s not their money. Yes, many college students don’t think about it before they throw out food

While everyone may love to go out and enjoy a fine meal with friends and family, most will never stop to think the process of how the food came about, or the production thereof. John Oliver’s piece on “Food Waste” outlines all the problems of food waste and how they can impact society, animals, nature, and even the farmers who harvest the produce. America and its businesses should try to decrease the amount of food being wasted. By doing so, not only are we a contributing factor to help reduce waste, save time and money, but we are also aiding the less-fortunate in a society, while still saving natural resources and the planet as a whole.

Food waste is an issue that is present at Cornell College. By going into Bon Appetit, the issue becomes clear. Students are given more food than they can eat. To go boxes are not available for students who dine in, and most students do not bring reusable containers with them. Most do not think about how much food they waste. By going over to where we put out plates when we are finished, it is easy to see many students leave a good portion of their meals on the plate. Whether they did not like what they were eating or they were in a hurry and had to leave, big amounts of food are wasted during each meal of the day. Steps can be taken to decrease the overall amount of food that is wasted on campus. Ideas such as smaller plates, vermiculture, competitions, and others can be utilized in the efforts to decrease food waste on campus.

Have you thought about how much food is wasted? Just think about your supper last night did you throw any food away if you did have you ever thought about where it goes or what happens to it? Many people don’t realize that there is a lot of food that is thrown away every year. Not only do people in their homes throw away food but grocery stores also throw out a lot of food too. “Most people believe that grocery stores should donate their food instead of throwing it away but the reason why many stores don’t donate their food is because many stores either don’t want to get sued or many grocery stores don’t know that they should be donating it.” ( Jacobs)

Now, more than ever, people are wasteful of the one thing we require most; food. We dispose of food at such a rate that it literally becomes waste which others

Nowadays, students are coming face to face with their food waste, and its environmental and social impact, a lot more often. They also have more opportunities do something about it, Ben Simon, founder Food Recovery Network, has helped college students recover untouched food and donate it to local organizations that need it. This organization has established concepts relating to food waste that students see and understand. Simon also brings light to facts that the college student doesn’t want to think about, “About 40 percent of all food in the U.S. never even makes it to the plate before it's tossed. Yet 1 in 6 Americans goes hungry” (Poon 1). College students collaborating with organizations like Food Recovery Network are making a difference and helping the world to become a better environment for future generations. The generations before these “millennials” didn’t care to think about the devastating effects the earth would experience due to their constant pollution and waste. They didn’t care about the planet or wasting food. Stopping food waste does not just involve the food from dining halls, it also involves the food bought. “It’s estimated that 6 billion pounds of U.S. fruits and vegetables are discarded annually, often for cosmetic reasons. Tasty and nutritious produce is being rejected by exacting retail standards because of blemishes: an orange that isn’t exactly 1 ¼ inches across, an apple with minor surface scarring or a bell pepper that won’t stand up” (Rosenberg 1). Instead of throwing out they imperfect fruit and vegetables like grocery stores would do, college students would rather buy them. It is cheaper and better for the earth. Those 6 billion pounds of fruit can feed people for a long time and help when they are in need. It will also make the world “greener” and promote a better way of live. People would be less snobby with their food, and realize that a blemish doesn’t

Many people wonder how much food is actually wasted each year in the United States. In the article, How Much Food do We Waste Every Year? written by Casey Chan, he reveals facts about the percentages of food that are wasted by certain groups and businesses each year in a video produced by Visually. Approximately $165 billion is spent on wasted food each year in the United States; 6 percent of which is wasted by grocery stores, 15 percent is produced by restaurants and bakeries, and 25 percent is produced from the average person household. That may be a large number, but if American’s were to save just 15 percent of all of the food wasted, it would be able to feed 25 million starving people in the United States (Chan, 2013).

There are billions of people struggling every day to have enough to eat, and billions of tons of food being tossed in the garbage, food waste is gaining increasing awareness as a serious environmental and economic issue. Research shows that about 60 million metric tons of food is wasted a year in the United States, with an estimated value of $162 billion. About 32 million tons of it end up in landfills, at a cost of about $1.5 billion a year to local government this economic crisis is worldwide! My research estimates that a third of all the food produced in the world is never consumed, and the total cost of that food waste could be as high as $400 billion a year. The food discarded by retailers and consumers in the most developed countries would be more than enough to feed all of the world’s hungry people, but it is not just those countries that have problems with food waste, it is also an issue in African countries like South Africa. The problem is expected to grow worse as the world’s population increases, unless actions are taken to reduce the waste. Food waste is not only a social cost, but it contributes to growing environmental problems like global warming, experts say, with the production of food consuming vast quantities of water, fertilizer and land. The fuel that is burned to process, refrigerate and transport it also adds to the environmental cost. Most food waste is thrown away in landfills, where it decomposes and emits methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Food waste is something that affects us all. It happens anywhere food has a presence; the grocery store, restaurants, in our homes, at schools, on farms, in production and even in transportation. It affects people everywhere; those living oceans away and those that share our boarders, people living across America and throughout Utah, businesses and households alike.

Food waste in the United States is happening as we speak. There are many different factors that contribute to food waste, but one factor that is not really mentioned is food waste in schools. A research lead by Cohen Jf an Assistant Professor, Merrimack College; Adjunct Assistant Professor, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health found that schools across the nation waste an estimated $1.2 billion of food each year, which is enough to give every man, woman, and child in Canada $33.33. In addition, nearly 37% of fresh fruits, 33% of vegetables, 44% of grains, and 32% of milk are wasted in schools (Smith). Furthermore, a study found that while children placed more fruits and vegetables on their trays - as required by the USDA mandates put in place in 2012 - they consumed fewer of them. The amount of food wasted increased by 56 percent, the researchers found. So, because of this regulation, students have to grab unwanted items from the cafeteria even though they do not want them, which is one of the main reason why many of the food products end up in the trash.

The issue of food waste is one that many people might not consider to be serious, but it is critical to the environment that a solution is devised. Fortunately, there are many simple things that people all over the world can do to keep the Earth healthy. First, if farmers and agricultural employees would prevent overgrazing, pesticide pollution, and over plowing, water would be saved, and the general health of the