If you spend time on any social media platforms, chances are you’ll see multiple posts and ads while you scroll, which focus primarily on food. People sharing their meals, offering restaurant reviews, filming grocery shopping trips, posting recipes, diets—every aspect of consuming fuel for the body—essentially flooding our feeds 24/7.
We read it, post it and enjoy it as well. For the most part, it’s a positive exchange of information in an otherwise often toxic content landscape. But what we fail to remember is how abnormal the bounty of food we have to discuss may be for others. The Global Hunger Index reports that 43 countries have “alarming” or “serious” levels of hunger. That translates to roughly over 800 million people currently starving.
The horrible truth of that number is that they’re not starving because Mother Earth has insufficient resources. They’re hungry because of human behaviours that result in significant loss.
On this International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste Reduction, we want to bring attention to the reasons behind the disparities and discuss how we as individuals and communities can take action.
Startling Stats
Roughly ⅓ of all food that is produced is lost each year. That is equal to approximately 1.3 billion tons of food per year. If there was no waste, what we produce could feed 1.5x the global population.
So, why is there such a discrepancy between the amount produced and the amount consumed? Turns out there are a variety of reasons….
Climate Change
In a vicious cycle, food loss and waste both contribute to and are impacted by climate change.
Greenhouse gases are generated by discarded food that rots in landfills. In fact, it is the third largest cause of these destructive methane emissions (following only fossil fuels and deforestation). In addition to the actual food waste, the original packaging for whatever was not consumed can also be a contributing factor to climate change if it was a plastic material that was used to contain it before purchase. Going even deeper, the machinery used to prepare the food would have utilised valuable energy, so the damage goes far beyond a half-eaten hamburger in a faraway place….
The greenhouse gases have a boomerang effect, as they raise the global temperature, which can elevate extreme weather that impacts crops and can cripple food production. As for farming, poor land utilisation, plus using harmful pesticides instead of regenerative practices, can exacerbate the existing issues.
Conflicts
The wars being fought across the globe have a devastating ripple effect on food loss. Farmers who are displaced cannot cultivate their crops, leading to supply chain issues and increased prices for basic food staples. When infrastructure is destroyed (as it has been in Ukraine, for example), the energy used to rebuild is also significant, leading to additional greenhouse gas emissions, etc.
Consumers
Not all of the blame lands upon the political landscape—much of the food waste is caused by those of us who rely upon it for nourishment. From throwing away food to using only certain parts of items to create meals, to disposing of it in a way that doesn’t optimise its natural breakdown, overall food waste from families, individuals, supermarkets and restaurants is significant.
How to Help
- Don’t Overbuy Food. Stock your pantry with items that have an expiration date that’s realistic to your consumption habits. If you see items nearing their expiration that you won’t be able to eat in time, donate them to a local food bank so they don’t go to waste. Don’t know where to donate? Consult the worldwide map of food banks, courtesy of The Global Food Banking Network. Stopfoodwaste.org also offers a free downloadable weekly shopping list.
- Get Creative with Leftovers. Cold pizza isn’t the only food that tastes great the second time around. There are many ways to repurpose leftover foods without throwing them out. If you’re at a loss for ideas, BBC Good Food has a list of recipes to make specifically from leftovers.
- Dispose Responsibly. There are times when food items must be discarded if they’re expired or unable to be used again in a leftover meal. For those instances, composting is a great option. Many towns and cities offer composting services alongside garbage and recycling programs, but if you reside outside the places that do, Let’s Go Compost has an informational section of their website just for beginners.
When we know better, we do better, so we are committed to adapting to and increasing our existing habits to reduce food waste for the benefit of all.
We hope you’ll join us….
Photo by Julian Lennon, (c) 2024. View over 12,000 more photos on Instagram.
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We can all do better if we try!
By being more mindful of the problems others face in our country and others around the world and how lucky we are to have food everyday there are others who are starving every day!
Every little bit helps!
What upsets me the most is food that is wasted in this country! A lot of restaurants and grocery stores throw out perfectly good food every day . Why can’t these places give that food to shelters or give the food to the people who live on the street. It breaks my heart!