Skip to main content

Your Food Waste Has Global Impact

You probably feel a little guilty about tossing leftovers. Throwing out uneaten food is a waste of the money you spent to buy it and the resources it took to grow and prepare it. But did you know that wasted food is so harmful that the United Nations has a campaign against it?

Last year, the UN designated September 29 as the International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste Reduction. The name is a mouthful, but dealing with food waste is fundamental to the UN’s sustainability goal “Responsible Consumption and Production.” This goal directly supports two others: “Zero Hunger” and “Climate Action.”

Food loss is one of the root causes of hunger worldwide and accounts for 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Pandemic Problem

Although the UN had already identified food loss and waste as an issue to address in 2020, the coronavirus pandemic has added new urgency to the problem.

At a time when food banks in the developed world are facing unprecedented demand, physical distancing measures are combining with supply chain disruptions to create significantly more food loss and waste, especially of healthy perishable produce. Supermarkets (key donors to food banks) are struggling to keep their shelves stocked due to panic buying and stockpiling.

Yet, much of the food purchased by households will end up being discarded, not only because they’ve purchased more than they can use, but also through improper storage and misunderstanding food labels.

Food Loss vs. Food Waste

Technically food loss and food waste are different. Food loss includes food that rots in the field unharvested, or food that doesn’t survive storage and transit. Food waste occurs at or after the point of retail. It’s when grocery stores throw out food that is reaching the end of its shelf life, or when food rots in the refrigerator.

In industrialized countries, 40% of the problem is food waste at the retail or consumer level. Although consumers can only indirectly influence food loss, we can do a lot about food waste. Americans waste about 400 pounds of food per capita each year.

What You Can Do

First of all, learn what to do instead of stockpiling during the pandemic. Learn to decipher confusing food date labels and store food properly to maintain freshness. See just how much food you waste, and then look to the less wasteful food cultures of other countries for ways to make the most of your food.

Don’t wait until the end of the pandemic to start building less wasteful habits. Getting creative with leftovers and food scraps helps you minimize your need to shop. Precycling, which involves planning the types and amount of food you buy, will minimize your leftovers in the first place.

Cutting down on your own food waste is worth the effort. Not only will you save a lot of money on your grocery bill – about $660 on average, you will make the world a better place. Saving one-fourth of the food currently lost or wasted could feed 870 million hungry people worldwide and restore 700 billion dollars’ worth of annual ecosystem services such as restored wetlands and biodiversity.

You Might Also Like…

Your Food Waste Has Global Impact

September 29, 2020

We Earthlings: Get the Plastic Out!

September 29, 2020

5 Energy-Saving Tips for Colder Weather

September 29, 2020

The post Your Food Waste Has Global Impact appeared first on Earth 911.



from Earth 911 https://ift.tt/3ic9EM0 https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How I Collected 1,000 Cigarette Butts

I never smoked. I guess it’s because of the smell, the sickly scent that lingers on your clothes and hair long after you’re done with a cigarette. Last week, I had the doubtful pleasure of experiencing the stench of 1,000 cigarette butts. Spoiler alert: It’s worse than you imagine. Much, much worse. This is the story of why I did it. Our Beaches Are Drowning in Cigarette Butts It all started with articles about the impact of plastic straw pollution. They are the seventh most common trash item found on our beaches and got so much attention that within a few months they started getting banned all over the world. You know what doesn’t get that much attention, though? Another trash item, so ubiquitous we tend to overlook it, even though we step on it 100 times a day. A trash item made from cellulose acetate that decomposes into microplastic particles. Yes, I’m talking about cigarette butts . Because they’re so tiny, we tend to believe they’re not litter, and that this one small ci...
Post a Comment
Read more

Urban Greening Post COVID-19: What It Means for Business

We’re at a time of crisis; how do we rebuild our economies after COVID-19 ? Humans have caused the annihilation of 83% of all wild animals and half of all plants. We’re disrupting a natural climatic balance, pushing us into a future projected to be 39.38-40.64 °F warmer. We need to take drastic action to re-balance society with nature. Cities account for 75% of resource use, 60-80% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and 50% of global waste. By 2030, the urban population is expected to grow by 70% worldwide. This makes cities a perfect hub to transition into a sustainable future. And this transition has started now. Worldwide investments are shifting from conventional to green alternative design , within which urban greening is key. In this article, we’ll look at two examples of urban greening projects, identifying the importance of businesses and individuals for the success of each. What is urban greening and why is it important? Living green walls are an urban greening ini...
Post a Comment
Read more

Maven Moment: Reuse Ideas for Old Pantyhose & Stockings

Years ago, pantyhose or stockings were must-haves for a working woman’s wardrobe. No professional woman would consider going to work without wearing them. Even today, pantyhose and knee-high stockings make an outfit look finished and professional. And knee-high stockings are so comfortable to wear with slacks. I accumulated quite a collection of them to wear with my cute flats. But recently, the lab where I work has mandated that we wear safety shoes, so I don’t wear my flats as often and I don’t need very many pairs of knee-highs or pantyhose. I save a pair of pantyhose in case I need to wear a dress. As for the knee-highs, I keep about 10 of the best pairs for when I can wear my casual shoes. But what do I do with all the extras? I can wear an extra set of pantyhose under slacks in a chilly office, even if it has a run in it. My great aunt in Italy actually sews up the runs in her stockings and wears them beneath pants in just this way — especially for her pricey support hose. I j...
Post a Comment
Read more