Environmental Issues And Food Waste

Waste is a world-wide problem, with food waste being the main contender. In the United

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

There is no clear description regarding food waste in a universal matter either historically or presently, making it perplexing in definition and comparison. What is clear is that food waste continues to grow at a rapid pace with the expansion of a world population experiencing societal and agricultural developments in an era where land and other resources are becoming more limited. The increase in waste and category of foods which people throw away has transformed with time through the advancement and evolving of varying cultures. The French labeled “Garbage” specifically as food waste and later broadened the term in applying to refuse in general.

With the seemingly unstoppable growth of the world’s population and a projected global population of nine billion by 2050, the matter of whether or not there will be enough food to support the world’s populace is brought into question (Parfitt, et al., 2010). However, amid the concern for an adequate food supply, there is an immense amount of food waste produced by the world, including the United States. In fact, “according to the Natural Resources Defense Council as much as 40 percent of all food produced in the United States never gets eaten and typically ends up in the landfills or goes unharvested in the field “(King, 2015).

There is enough food waste in America to fill up 730 football stadiums. Yet, ironically there were almost 50 million people who live in households that are food-insecure in 2013. Thus, it is critically important to help reduce (or at the very least reevaluate) the amount of food that is wasted so it can be used to help those who can’t always afford it, or, help to reduce the impact of methane released by landfills, or, help to use less resources gone into making the produce.

Transition to 1st main point: First, let’s talk about how much waste comes from animal agriculture and what is in it.

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.

As mentioned in Wiskerke’s Urban Food Systems, there are currently enough food to feed 10 billion people at the global scale, and yet 40% of it went to disposal due to harvest and postharvest losses (which includes industrial, commercial, and household wastes). This opens up a larger issues of over purchasing, supermarket’s quality control (in which products that do not match the company’s standard will get thrown away instead of being sold at the store), over production of food at commercial level, and the food expiry date system that cause more waste than safety. These are issues that many

It may seem like a harmless act, however, food waste emits a toxic greenhouse gas known as methane. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, methane is the second most prevalent greenhouse gas emitted from human activities. In 2013, it accounted for about 10% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. Greenhouse gases contribute to global warming and they could potentially contaminate groundwater by being stored in landfills. Not only does food waste release toxins in the air, it causes an unpleasant odor that could potentially attract unwanted animals. So how much food waste is there exactly? “In 2010 an estimated 31% of the food in U.S. stores and homes were uneaten, and Americans shipped approximately 34 million tons of food waste to landfills” (Dahl). However, the negative talk against landfills has recently caused states to take initiative to reduce the how much waste gets transported into the landfills, for example, according to Dahl, Connecticut was the first to take such action. They did so by limiting the companies that generate the most waste, but they are not the only state with this type of plan. This essay will discuss two ways to give food waste a second chance by making it more

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.

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

Preview: I have decided to research food waste that exists in our world. First I will talk about the problem of food waste and how it affects everyone. Second I will be talking about how the food waste is being done at an alarming rate. Lastley I will talk about solutions to this problem.

There are many reasons for food waste but in my own opinion, Canadian behaviour has changed towards food because they are separate from the process of food making. As it was

There are countless issues that pose danger to the environmental health of the Earth, but one of the most often overlooked problems is food waste. Food waste contributes to droughts as well as other serious economic and climate ramifications. However, there are many things that can be done to resolve this pressing issue.

If you saw an “ugly apple“ and a “pretty apple“ in the grocery store, which one would you want to buy? Most people would buy the “pretty apple“, but what happens to the “ugly apple“? The negative impact that food waste has on the environment is far more significant than some may think. Food waste is when food is discarded or uneaten. There are numerous causes of food waste that mostly occur during the stages of production, processing, retailing and consumption. Based on a study done by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations or FAO, fifty-four percent of the world’s food wastage occurs “upstream” and about 46 percent of it happens “downstream”. Upstream meaning during the stages of production, post-harvest, handling and storage and,downstream meaning during the stages of processing, distribution and consumption. In Canada alone, roughly 40 percent of the food that is produced each year is wasted. That is equivalent to nearly $27 billion dollars worth of food. Food waste also has numerous negative impacts on the environment which consequently affects us as well. I believe that food waste is a growing environmental problem due to the fact that it has various effects on climate, biodiversity, land and water.