Why, then, is 11.3% of the Earth’s population not getting enough to eat? Although definitely attributable to income deviations within populations (uneven distribution of resources), the biggest reason people go hungry is that the people who do have enough food waste it. By purchasing more than they can realistically consume, the people who have reliable income are increasing the demand of resources past what agriculture (even though the industry produces more than enough food) can supply, making prices higher than people with lower income can afford. Here are some disturbing facts about food waste:
So what can we do? The first and biggest step to reduce the amount of food we throw away is shop smart. I’ll be the first to admit that I struggled with this when I first moved out on my own. I had to learn to plan meals in advance so I only bought what I knew I’d cook. Some other tips: always look at the expiration dates. Although you’ll be sacrificing freshness, see if you can find canned or frozen alternatives to your favorite foods that can be stored longer. Buy smaller portions or share products with your family or roommates. Another great suggestion is to plan for leftovers. It’s fine to cook more than you know will be eaten as long as you refrigerate it and save it for later. When you’re eating out, order enough for two meals so you can justify taking what’s left home in a to-go box. That’s one less meal you have to buy at the grocery store, and ordering a few extra ounces of steak or that third side is usually only a few extra dollars—less than it costs to buy ingredients for a whole new meal. Yet another way to keep from throwing out food you didn’t eat is to find alternative uses for it. Have a garden? Use expired goods as compost. Feed scraps to your pets (but remember their limitations!). We can’t lay the blame of world hunger on farmers—they’re doing their job. The truth is that it is the job of every single consumer to minimize food waste. Although everyone knows that this is a problem, few people realize that it’s the reason that so many people go without adequate nutrition. This isn’t so much an agriculture issue… it’s a humanitarian crisis that we all have a responsibility of fixing.
1 Comment
Jeremy F.
9/10/2018 09:12:15 pm
The one major flaw I find in this article is this: even if every single consumer purchases less, food goes bad on grocery store and restaurant shelves and in the dry storage and coolers. They ultimately throw that away. If we purchase less, there’s more that timately goes bad in the retail locations, and more that ends up being disposed of. Therefore, I don’t see how reducing what you consider “food waste” really helps anything at all.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |