Sustainable, Humane, Local And Fair

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.

In the end, it becomes troublesome to go grocery shopping. Likewise, this ties into the idea of environment. Which is more environmentally friendly: to walk to a local Whole Foods or to drive to the “local” farmer’s market? Many would say buying local reduces waste due to transportation; nonetheless, a chart from the magazine Conservation Magazine proves that a majority of gas emissions actually comes from the production of the food (Source D). Transportation is low already, so why should we add to that by traveling far distances? Becoming a true locavore for an environmental reason is not worth the efforts because the changes are very miniscule To become a true locavore has many incentives, but there are other reasons that influence can someone to dedicate a portion of their diet to local foods.

The author further convinces the reader of the negative economic impact that convenience foods have by providing a chart from the NSW environment protection authority which provides that each year in just one state the cost of processed food waste is approximately $360 million is wasted on packaged food, $240 million on frozen food and $170 million on takeaway. In contrast of this the author communicates that if people grew their own food they would value it too much and hence there would be no waste.

Serving as the number one source of our plastic use, companies opt for plastic containers because it's easy, feasible, and convenient. Food packaging alone makes up for 30-40% of landfills with much of that plastic being carried into the oceans. Going off of this, a new concept that's quickly becoming popular are package free grocery stores. These cost- effective grocery stores have everything you could possible need in bulk form and consumers bring glass or reusable containers, or cloth bags and fill them with the food they need. First popping up in cities like Berlin, Vienna, and Barcelona, many are finding this a more sustainable and eco-friendly option resulting in these sort of grocery stores quickly spreading across the ocean, with the first one in the United States expected to open in Brooklyn, New York. Business operators are extremely optimistic that this could serve a very impactful solution to getting rid of unnecessary plastic. (Che Jenny).

“Locavores are people who have decided to eat locally grown or produced products.” The purpose of a locavore is to achieve quality nutrients and as little pollution as possible. The search for environment sustainability and love for locally grown products, is known as the locavore movement. Personally, a person would think, “how would this impact the region?” The truth is, it has implicating and decisive results.

The different sections of the book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” embody the flawed system that America is currently facing, particularly the food industry. There is a limited understanding of what constitute an ideal meal, and process of prepping one. It could be that the information available are not clear and direct, or most consumers are choosing to overlook the lurking dangers behind the accessible food products. Either way, it is evident that most consumers have fell out of touch with knowing what they eat. The book provides a precise, comprehensive, and intuitive summary of the elements on the definition of foods. “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” is written in a direct, clear, and informative manner for the general audience, including farmers, consumers, and those who actively involve with processing foods. Readers will be able to establish a deeper understanding of the evolution of collecting food, and how that has affected the choices of putting together a perfect meal.

Does the origin of where our food is being produced really matter? Is there actually a difference between locally produced food and food bought from supermarkets? How can one truly find a difference? Locavores, question this issue by providing reasons as to why one should join this movement. The locavore movement has become a progressing trend, which many people choose to follow around the world. A locavore is somebody who prefers to eat locally grown products rather than products sold in supermarkets. They believe that food grown locally is more nutritious, better in taste and greatly supports the community. However, what most people do not realize is the negative impact it has on a

These swine industries emit toxic gases and pollute groundwater, which is a major health risk to those living nearby. Such communities are populated by marginalized groups and have little political influence on the matter. The location, coupled with the negative experiences felt by people in minority groups, is a clear example of environmental racism. It is essential for us, as a consumerist society, to make smarter choices about what we support. Buying locally is an excellent and sustainable alternative. Shifting towards a vegetarian or vegan diet is a further step we can take to end this injustice. Essentially, “the push for a healthy, plant-based, and sustainable food system is fastened to the push for a healthy and just social system” (Gunderson, 2015, p.105). It is important to consider that our actions here can seriously impact people and the environment in a different part of the

The first reason why local sustainable is the best food chain to feed all the people of the United States is because it’s healthier for the consumer. According to The Omnivore’s Dilemma page 173 it states that there is no pesticides or artificial fertilizer in the food. This shows that the food is all natural with no pesticides, artificial fertilizer, chemicals, etc. It also states that the consumer knows exactly where there food is coming from. (Pollan 208) The consumers can see where there chickens have been killed and see how clean it is to show that

Many locavores say that locally grown produce contains more nutrients since they’ve been recently picked, unlike supermarkets where the produce has been left in the freezers for weeks. In addition, they also claim that since it takes less distance to travel from farm to plate there is a decreased chance of contamination (Source A). It’s accurate to say that most produce grown from local areas are healthier which is why the government plans to place more investments into farmers markets(Source E). Although the Locavore Movement proves to have many beneficial aspects to it, food is food. Locally grown food may be considered healthier with fewer chemicals, however, a normal human will be able to obtain the

A new trend in the food world has stepped into the limelight, with strong opinions supporting each side. Locavorism involves consuming mostly locally grown and produced products, fresh, fragrant products packed with healthy nutrients. These American locavores have emerged within the past ten years, and the fad shows no sign of slowing down. Two of the main goals include an attempt to improve nutrition and to encourage sustainable food production. However, this movement has revealed some key issues and negative implications on communities, actually causing unfortunate effects on the modernized food industry. In this day and age, the United States’ industrialized agricultural world is unequipped to deal with the sudden shift in consumption towards

Another important element to look at for food is how our food is made and our options to food. Over time, Dan Barber explains that we have shifted our approach to eating from family style that consisted of a classic meal centered on a large cut of meat with a few vegetables. Later shifting to a cautious approach that we expect our meat is from free range animals and the vegetables are locally sourced. Whereas, today we are more of an integrated system of vegetable, grain, and livestock production that is fully supported by what we choose to cook for dinner. Since we experience no upper limit on the amount of meat we can consume. As a result from the industry becoming too good at producing a lot of animals too cheaply.

Conventional shipping cartons have ventilation holes which allows air to circulate around the product, but this also allows the produce to continue ripening and exposes to bacteria and pathogens, which contributes to loss. FreshTec’s patented packaging technology employs a breathable plastic liner inside a cardboard carton, which is sealed with a plastic lid. It’s part of a growing segment of food packaging using modified atmosphere technology. The liner and plastic lid slow the amount of oxygen entering the carton and also traps some of the carbon dioxide the produce expels, effectively putting it to sleep for up to a month of travel time. Overall, FreshTec provides more time for produce to reach the market, which reduce the likelihood of loss or waste.

In food service it is important to realize and address hot button issues within the industry to begin to understand what the target market wants, increase revenue and decrease cost centers. In researching the increasingly pressing issue of food sustainability in global food service it was discovered that implementations are initially expensive and require large amounts of dedication but are ultimately huge factors in increasing brand loyalty and recognition and gaining popularity within the “green” market segment. It was the goal of this paper to outline specific concerns posed by the issue of food sustainability as well as methods of the industry’s participation in its solutions and to analyze the progress made to increase awareness of

Investigations into developing a more sustainable and eco-friendly aspect of every day life are becoming a major priority. Without such investigations or developments in not only the food packaging sectors, but in many other major industries, this planet along with its inhabitants will surely succumb to the human lust of consumerism and ultimately the waste that such hunger produces. The implantation of ecofriendly “green” packaging options would see a sharp decline in the amount of waste that is produced each year and give the ability to recycle and to produce new items from previously used packaging. In this report the team discuss the concept of biodegradable plastics and their future implementation as “green” food packaging alternatives to the current form of non eco-friendly plastics that are in existing use. Biodegradability refers to a composites ability to be degraded by bacteria or other living organisms, plastics such as these can also be susceptible to water and ultraviolet rays as sources of decomposition with this aspect being discussed within the chapters of this report. As apart of this report, team members assess the discovery, life cycle as well as the current or future applications of three different types of bio-plastic. Contained within is discussion on Poly-Lactic Acid, Novamont’s thermoplastic starch-based polymer and …