Food Waste Why do we as citizens waste food in a world full of hungry people? Food waste has become a huge worldwide problem, especially in this generation. Many foods in the United States is being wasted while others are having trouble to put food on the table for their own family. Food waste is usually being discarded and not eaten. For many food waste doesn’t come across their minds because they don’t struggle with buying the groceries, no matter the price. We do not just waste food while affecting the global warming, but we also burn the planet’s resources. The world produces enough food, but if we keep buying and throwing away the food without being eaten, we will not be able to feed ourselves and families anymore. One of the effects of food waste on the environment cause to produce an abundant amount of methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas 21 times times worse than co2. If methane was to leak into the air, it would absorb the sun’s heat. The closer you are to your ingredients the less greenhouse gas will be emitted delivering them, the fresher they will be and the longer they will last. The most obvious effect of food waste is the causes of people going hungry. People could choose not to buy extra food so they would not need to throw it away. Every once a while, people could open a sheltered food for the homeless if they had additional food than they needed. Throwing too much food can cause bad air for us when the trash gets burned. I am very antipathy towards wasting
The idea of wasting food is terrible idea. We all need food to survive and live on this planet. But, the problem is that some people just doesn't know how valuable food is because, we can think of ways to give it all away. There are starving people and there are 3 reasons food is being wasted.
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.
Food waste is an environmental, economic, and ethical problem that can lead to less calorie intake and unnecessary damage of our assets. Individual behavior can redesign food waste at home and lead to bigger changes in the ecosystem. The problem is Americans throw out more food than glass, paper, and plastic. Also about 25% of food grown, processed, and transported in the US will never be consumed. When food is disposed in a landfill it rots and becomes a significant source of methane— a potent greenhouse gas with 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.
Looking at the Impacts of Food Waste, In general by wasting food that’s mean we are wasting our money but in different way. . At the same time it is impacting us financially it’s also playing a huge role in the problems we see happening to our environment. The US Environment Protection Agency said, “Generating food waste has significant economic as well as environmental consequences. Whether you’re an individual, family, or business, chances are a considerable portion of your budget goes towards buying food — either for you, your family, or your customers. And since we now throw away more food than anything else, that means we are throwing away a lot of our money.” (“Basics,” par. 2) They went on to say that wasting food does more than impact our economy; it also impacts our environmental severely. We need to look at other countries and see what they’re doing with their food waste mistakes and do them same in our country the
In the U.S., we are blessed with a sufficient amount of resources, especially food. Food is literally at everyone’s fingertips; people can order food efficiently off of their cellphones, and due to this abundance, it has caused many Americans to be very wasteful with their food. According to feedingamerica.org, “An estimated 25 – 40% of food grown, processed and transported in the US will never be consumed.” Not only that, but rotting food causes more greenhouses gases to be released in the air
Food waste causes enormous economic losses; food is wasted at the production and consumer level. Did you know that in the span of five years, the economic cost of food waste rose by $2.8 billion? Yes, from $5.2 billion in 2009 to $8 billion in 2014. It is ridiculous! You are contributing to food waste, an issue that impacts us financially and environmentally. It’s almost like Australians are not struggling in managing their homes. This money can be put to use; rent, transport, clothing and recreation costs can be covered. How many of us fill our plates at dinner only to throw away a large portion of it? How many of us fill our trolleys with the week’s grocery despite knowing it will not be eaten? We reason with ourselves that a little bit of food can hardly do any harm. Think again. Every household in Australia has a similar practice pertaining to food waste so imagine the mass of that. In recent years, the demand for food has increased drastically, causing Australian farms to produce more food. Our hard-earned money is used to purchase food which unfortunately ends up as waste. In addition, the convenience associated with
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
In conclusion, the effect of wasting food has drastic consequences. Wasted food is equivalent to wasted water and wasted water upsets our ecosystem. If the thought of the wasted money and water that occur every time food is wasted aren't enough to stop the waste of food, think of the droughts and torrential rains that come with it. Everyone can stop wasting food and in so doing, saving the ecosystem and the world, everyone can be a food and water
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 has been a massive problem for many years. Food Waste will still be a problem if we don't take action right away. Food waste is when food is uneaten and then thrown away. If we don't take action right away, other generations to come might not have enough food to live off of. The problem with food waste is that food that is thrown away ends up in landfills. Each year, approximately 1.3 billion tons of food that is wasted in the United States gets lost or thrown away. When all this food ends up in landfills, it produces a potent gas called methane. It is 84 times as dangerous and powerful as carbon dioxide. Methane is bad for the environment because it contributes to global warming. The way it contributes to global warming is because
Wasting food is a bad habit that affects all of society and we continue to implicate ourselves in the problem. Of the total of food loss that is going on about 40 percent is in the household. Overall a typical household of four loses about 600 dollars in food a year. (Jones 11)
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
Canada is a developed nation with most of its citizens living in food security. Most Canadians are able to live in security knowing that they have access and availability to food, others still struggle to get food onto their table. 850, 000 Canadians access a food bank every month when $31 billion dollars worth of food ends up in the landfills (CBC). One of the most valued resources to humans is being wasted instead of consumed. This research essay asks the question: why do Canadians waste their food? This essay will argue that it is people’s behaviour that causes food waste. It will look through two dimensions of food waste from consumer’s behaviour to manufacturing. It is clear to mention that it is not people’s intention to waste but because of their behaviours, food waste is still a major issue that goes on in Canadian society. Globally, one-third (1.3 billion tons), of food produced for human consumption is wasted along the food chain annually (George 3). Canadians waste about 183 kilograms of solid food per person. The solution to food waste is to stop wasting but we must look further about why do Canadians waste. The response to this question would be that Canadians need to reshape their relationship with food and modify their behaviour.
The everyday American on average wastes an astonishing twenty pounds of food each month (Gunders). Food waste is defined, as food that was intended for human consumption but was never eaten. Food waste in America is a massive problem; perfectly edible food is spoiled and discarded at every section of the food supply chain, which causes severe consequences for the environment and the economy. If Americans wasted 5% less food, the country as a whole would save fifty million dollars yearly (Hall). Not only would reducing food waste help save money but also it would immensely help climate change, as decomposing food in landfills creates methane gas. CO2 is known as the main culprit of climate change however; although methane gas is less talked
In America, we are constantly surrounded by abundance. Food is a prevalent waste item in the United States. Most people do not think about the resources it took to produce, transport, and prepare the food they throw away. Our food waste is not actually just trash; it is the key to human survival. Ordinary consumers can change the future with one small action: to stop wasting food. Actions at the individual level can decrease food waste and feed those in need. Twenty five percent of purchased food is thrown away. (TED) Often this is because food has spoiled, but it can be for other reasons such as oversupply, misread labels, or individual consumer shopping and eating habits. http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3347e/i3347e.pdf