About one third of all the food produced in the world every year is lost or wasted according to the United States Department of Agriculture. In the U.S. and other wealthy countries this number is even larger.
To put this into a different perspective, for every two meals eaten, one entire serving ends up in the trash.
This giant rate of food waste creates numerous inefficiencies within our society, and more needs to be done to combat this issue.
First and foremost, these high levels of food waste should never be able to occur while food insecurity exists. No one should have to starve when nearly 40 percent of the United States’ annual food production is wasted.
Secondly, food loss leads to excessive resource waste. Everything from water, land, energy, capital and labor work towards creating food that ultimately will serve no purpose. When food is wasted, so are resources – about $680 billion dollars is lost across industrialized countries from food waste yearly according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN.
As one of the wealthiest countries and home to the most billionaires, the U.S. needs to take a more active stance in opposition to wasting food. If made a priority, actual progress toward food security for all can be made. American families will no longer go hungry while their neighbors feast.
It is important to remain realistic. A 100 percent reduction of food waste will never happen. Spoilage will always occur, food will always go half-eaten at restaurants, and the problem will always somewhat persist. This does not mean that we cannot be better.
To begin to cut back on our food waste, we need to change the way the average grocery store, and its customers, operates.
A large part of food waste comes directly from grocery stores’ excessive quality standards and customers’ proclivity to purchase “pretty” foods. At the end of a week millions of dollars of food across the country are sent to a landfill because it has reached a best-by date, or because the produce appeared ugly. This food can still be eaten.
Instead of going from shelf to landfill, grocery stores need to follow in the steps of supermarkets like Trader Joe’s. Trader Joe’s takes this food not fit to sell but fit to consume and donates it all to local food banks.
This is the kind of corporate social responsibility is needed in the U.S.
Whole Foods does something similar and has pledged a goal to become a zero waste store.
Consumers need realize how big of a problem food waste really is. Americans with the choice should vote with their dollar and shop at stores like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods when available. Changing supermarket waste practices is the first step needed to combat the growing problem of food waste.
