2. What is Food Waste?
Food waste is food that is lost during any of the stages of the food supply chain.
Wasting food is not only an ethical and economic issue but it also depletes the environment of limited natural
resources. Food is lost or wasted throughout the supply chain, from initial production down to final household
consumption. One thing that also we observe is that people throw away food while there are people that donโt
have food to eat.
3. Causes
It is really good to celebrate and party every once in a while but we also need to take into consideration the amount of food
waste that comes along with such a lifestyle.
Sometimes, we change plans in regards to the food our family intended to eat and we end up wasting the food our family
was going to eat in the first place.
This category of food waste in the home could have been useful but unfortunately now smells bad, tastes bad andlook bad
due to poor management. To the trash, here we go!!
This category of waste is similar to leftovers, in fact, they can be described as leftovers which end up in the fridge but never
gets re-used again. We all know where such kind of food eventually ends up.
.
4. Problems
Between 33-50% of all food produced globally is never eaten,
and the value of this wasted food is worth over $1 trillion. To put
that in perspective, in the USA food waste represents 1.3% of
the total GDP.
However the reality is that in the โdevelopedโ world, more than
50% of food waste takes place in our homes. In contrast, less
than 2% of food waste takes place at the retail store level.
Each family can waste $2,275 each year because of food waste.
Also, one big problem that we donยดt realize is that we throw
away a lot food that is not perfect but we can still eat it, and the
world suffers a lot with the massive food waste.
5. Restaurants and Food Waste
The relationship between restaurants and food waste is very high because
the consumers want only perfect dishes and good looking products, and
the chefs want only the fruit and vegetables, meat, fish,... that donยดt have
any brown part or strange shapes.
6. Problems and Solutions
Problem: Huge portion sizes at restaurants and buffets can lead to large amounts of food waste, as
people are unable to finish the meals they order.
Solution: Restaurants can reduce this type of waste by offering smaller sizes of menu items.
Problem: Farmers mostly canยดt afford to harvest a entire field or a grocer has ordered too much of an item
and canยดt sell it all.
Solution: Redistribute food by giving it to food banks and outreach groups.
7. YOU ALSO CAN HELP!!!
Not only restaurants and big factories can help with this problem,each of us can contribute too.
What we can do in our own lives as consumers is to buy less food by not filling the entire cart, or making a
list before you go shopping to buy only the necessary things.
When we eat we have to try not to put a big amount of food on our plate because we can always go back
for more.
If we don't eat our food, you can reuse it after, donยดt throw it away.
for a better planet!
