Food Waste In America
Did you know that roughly 50 percent of all produce in the United States is thrown away? In Adam Chandler's article, Why Americans Lead the World in Food Waste, he claims that an estimated $160 billion worth of produce is wasted annually. Wasted food is one of the largest arising problems within America today, and the numbers for waste keep increasing year by year. Solutions have been thought out to help solve this drastic problem, but nothing will be accomplished until society open their eyes and see what is truly happening. The biggest question that arises about food waste is what causes this? There are a lot of reasons and statistics for why food waste is such an issue. Food waste may occur here and there in other countries, but America
is the worst when it comes down to it. Some third world countries do not even have enough food to feed everyone, leading to starving children and families. Why does America struggle to waste millions per year? One major reason to this recurring question is that America uses very cheap ingredients in their food. USA Today network channel put it this way: “The billions of pounds of food we throw away each year would be worth billions of dollars to another country that are desperate for help”. Nearly everywhere you go, look around and pause to notice how many fast food restaurants there are. These type of restaurants use very cheap ingredients to deliver fast and affordable food. Fast food restaurants and a good percentage of our restaurants today are aided by subsidies to corn, milk, wheat, and other popular ingredients found in our everyday foods. Food waste has been so bad in America that we are trying to genetically alter our foods so that they last longer for serving to customers. Another very popular problem in the area of food waste is the selfishness of customers and buyers. When people shop for food at grocery stores, they typically go for the best looking fruits and food items. Some grocery stores don’t even attempt to sell foods that look different or that appear “imperfect”. Instead, they throw them away and waste tons of food daily. One major solution to this part of wasting would to not be as picky with what foods we are looking for. A little bump or a deformed fruit is not going to hurt and will prevent from future food waste. America’s Government is not specifically strict on laws for grocery stores and food joints for what they are required to do with leftovers, deformed foods, and expired items. For example, France has banned supermarkets from throwing away food by directing them to compost or donate all expiring or unsold food. Germany is focusing on the issue in part by reforming expiration dates, which many argue are problematic. (The Atlantic, Adam Chandler) If America would start to set some higher standards for the food waste problems occurring, it would help solve these issues and we would all see significant improvements in the amount of food we would be saving and preserving. In conclusion, to help solve the issue of food waste in America, we need to start approaching the problem with more efficient solutions. 50 percent of all produce is thrown away in America as of today, and it can all be solved with some hard work, and some dedication to caring about our waste. Wasted food is one of the largest arising problems within America today, and the numbers for waste keep increasing year by year. We need to start acting now to cut down and become more efficient with our food waste.
is the worst when it comes down to it. Some third world countries do not even have enough food to feed everyone, leading to starving children and families. Why does America struggle to waste millions per year? One major reason to this recurring question is that America uses very cheap ingredients in their food. USA Today network channel put it this way: “The billions of pounds of food we throw away each year would be worth billions of dollars to another country that are desperate for help”. Nearly everywhere you go, look around and pause to notice how many fast food restaurants there are. These type of restaurants use very cheap ingredients to deliver fast and affordable food. Fast food restaurants and a good percentage of our restaurants today are aided by subsidies to corn, milk, wheat, and other popular ingredients found in our everyday foods. Food waste has been so bad in America that we are trying to genetically alter our foods so that they last longer for serving to customers. Another very popular problem in the area of food waste is the selfishness of customers and buyers. When people shop for food at grocery stores, they typically go for the best looking fruits and food items. Some grocery stores don’t even attempt to sell foods that look different or that appear “imperfect”. Instead, they throw them away and waste tons of food daily. One major solution to this part of wasting would to not be as picky with what foods we are looking for. A little bump or a deformed fruit is not going to hurt and will prevent from future food waste. America’s Government is not specifically strict on laws for grocery stores and food joints for what they are required to do with leftovers, deformed foods, and expired items. For example, France has banned supermarkets from throwing away food by directing them to compost or donate all expiring or unsold food. Germany is focusing on the issue in part by reforming expiration dates, which many argue are problematic. (The Atlantic, Adam Chandler) If America would start to set some higher standards for the food waste problems occurring, it would help solve these issues and we would all see significant improvements in the amount of food we would be saving and preserving. In conclusion, to help solve the issue of food waste in America, we need to start approaching the problem with more efficient solutions. 50 percent of all produce is thrown away in America as of today, and it can all be solved with some hard work, and some dedication to caring about our waste. Wasted food is one of the largest arising problems within America today, and the numbers for waste keep increasing year by year. We need to start acting now to cut down and become more efficient with our food waste.