Wasteful Habits Of Food Waste

Food Waste is a major issue in the United States. It takes up much needed room in landfills, it is a financial burden, and it contributes to the rise in hunger.

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.

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).

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.

As I look back on my life I think to myself how much food I have wasted. Maybe it was because it was spoiled or maybe I just didn't like how it tasted. All this waste adds up and all of it ends up in dumpsters or landfills. After reading “On Dumpster Diving” I have learned that America's waste is a problem and I now want to become a “. . . slightly less wasteful consumer” (61). If others plus myself learned to and understand how much food they waste our landfills may see a reduction in size. In reflecting back on this essay I have become aware of the kinds of waste I and the rest of society really produce. Furthermore, I have understood, become aware, and have tried to apply my knowledge of what I have learned from this essay into my daily

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

This paper will examine the problem of food waste in the United States. Firstly, this paper will describe what food waste is, and why food waste in the American society is an immense issue that needs to be addressed. In addition, it will address the consequences of food waste and the possible problems that this issue may bring in the future. Secondly, the paper will discuss three policy solutions that would help solve the problem of food waste in the United States: provide an enhanced tax deduction for corporations that choose to donate their food to the food banks, performing an extensive study that covers every single aspect of food waste in the current food system, and require every citizen to compost their food waste. Afterwards, it will analyze the pros and cons, and the hypothetical strengths and vulnerabilities of each policy solution. Lastly, this paper will discuss personal opinions on the issue of food waste.

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.

An article by Andrew Shakman titled “2016 Food Waste Forecast” shows just how big of a problem food waste is globally. “This past year was the biggest yet for people working on solving the global issue of wasted food” however, the problem is still not solved (Shakman). This article addresses the issues of wasting food and why it is a problem, especially in the United States. The article lists 17 trends that are involved in the issue of wasting food and how it can be changed. As a nation the United States is one of the wealthiest counties yet wastes food every single day “Andrew Shakman is a food waste prevention advocate and CEO of LeanPath. Shakman has been working at the front lines of behavior change, helping

So is the problem food waste itself, or that food is being thrown out when there are alternative options? Or is it that we just don’t stop to consider there is a problem? My concern is that it’s not a priority for most people. In addition, there are

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.

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.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), food wastage, “food produced and not eaten,” emits enough greenhouse gasses (GHG) to be ranked third amongst global emitters (FAO 2013, 6). In New York City (NYC) it is estimated that businesses “produce more than 650,000 tons of food waste annually” (Turso 2017). This specific food waste is classified as food scrap, cooked food which is still edible, but no longer useful to the business due to a myriad of reasons. Whatever the reason may be for the company, this tonnage of food has the potential and possibility of being recovered for redistribution to food banks, soup kitchens, and other food rescue organizations. For example, two of the largest organizations in NYC, City Harvest and Food Bank NYC, will collect around 59 million and 24 million pounds in 2017 respectively, of unprocessed/non-perishable food. This is equivalent to about 42 thousand tons or 6.5 percent of annual food waste from scraps. Despite having warehouses, fleets of vehicles, and numerous volunteers, two of the largest organizations barely make an impact on the total amount of food rescued versus food wasted.

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