Food And Food Pollution : The Contributions Of Food Waste

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.

One of the ways food is unnecessarily wasted is through the USDA’s grading of produce based on cosmetic value. Produce with cosmetic imperfections are valued at a lesser price and thus often farmers will not even make the effort to sell produce that has nothing wrong with it other than the fact that it is “ugly” (Glickman, 2015). Furthermore, businesses are required to throw out food that has passed its expiration date. However, expiration dates tend to be quite random and often have little truth to them (Glickman, 2015). They are simply to be used as estimates but end up adding to the amount of food waste. And all the food waste lands in landfills that cause the release of methane gas into the earth’s atmosphere. In fact, food waste which is categorized as organic waste is the primary source of methane gas (Baussan et. Al,

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.

To conclude, our current way of agricultural life is not sustainable. The article “What’s for supper” has made me realize that if I hope for a better future for generations to come I should support a locally sourced lifestyle. This article is an eye opener to me and proved to me the importance of supporting locally grown produce. Locally grown produce supports the environment as well as jobs for people in the community. The current system takes a toll on every species on the planet. Humans are overproducing on a massive scale and are wasting close to half of our supplies and

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.

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.

While the world’s farmers produce enough food to feed the planet, one-third of the food produced for human consumption is not really consumed. Globally, there exists up to 1.3 billion metric tons of uneaten food very year. And in addition to that, growing and transporting that food is estimated to create 3.3 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, which makes wasted food one of the world’s largest emission contributor.

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)

As society expands, it is critical to seek ways to lessen humans’ environmental impact. A key aspect of practicing sustainability is efficiently using resources, and one of such resources is food. In America alone, about 40% of food goes uneaten, and as the population increases, pressures on managing this waste will only increase further (Buzby, et al. 499). With many Americans lacking a secure supply of food, the need for an improved ability to manage food waste is essential. Furthermore, food waste places a severe strain on the environment. In an article by Buzby, Hyman, Stewart, and Wells, they state, “Food loss at the retail and consumer levels represents significant amounts of money and other resources invested in food production, including land, fresh water, labor, energy, agricultural chemicals (e.g., fertilizer, pesticides) and other inputs to produce food that does not ultimately meet its intended purpose of feeding people” (Buzby, et al. 492). It is clear that the problems with food waste are immense, ranging from environmental to economic.

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

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

The environmental problem created by food waste is the methane gas it emits while in our

Food is squandered in many different ways. The packaging process often goes wrong, forcing producers to toss the food or the transport goes array, which can result in the loss of food. The need for “marketable” food is also a problem. Farmers throw away otherwise-good crops that have slight discoloration or size differences. And as the price of produce fluctuates on the market, farmers might decide not to sell the crops they have grown, according to Peter Lehner, executive director of Natural Resources Defense Council. “Right now, food that isn’t sold to your best buyer is often dumped in the landfill,” he said. All the resources those crops used during growth—water, fertilizer and fuel—also go to waste.

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.

Conversely, in high-income countries, food waste is associated with consumption behavior and the inadequate coordination among different control points in food supply chain. Food can be wasted as a result from farmer-buyer agreement and some quality standards. Also, careless attitude from people who can afford such food waste and less consideration of purchase planning are the factors of food wasted in developed countries(Fig. 3)(Godfray et al., 2010)