Food Waste

Saumya Gunampalli

We’ve all done it. Thrown away a rotten banana or the bag of spinach you forgot was in the back of the fridge. It’s just a couple of little things. No big deal, right? Well, it might have a bigger impact on the environment than you think.





Each year, 60 million tons of produce get thrown away, just in America. This accounts for roughly 40 percent of all produce grown in the country. Basically, almost half of our produce grown goes straight into the trash. A lot of this comes from the fact that grocery stores only like to have the “pretty food” in stock. This means that any imperfections in produce can result in it being thrown away before it even hits the market. To do our part, we should buy only what we need and use what we have to reduce food waste.




Another factor that contributes to all the food-related waste is food packaging. It may not seem like a lot, but this waste adds up quickly. One way to combat this is called a zero-waste lifestyle. This means attempting to create as little waste as possible in your day to day life. A good example would be buying your food package free. Bringing your own containers to farmers markets and stores like Sprouts can help reduce the amount of waste created by food packages.

How can we implement ideas like composting and a zero-waste lifestyle in our daily life to reduce the amount of food-related waste we create? What’s a good alternative to throwing away “ugly foods” that grocery stores don’t want? How can we reduce food waste while also helping people who don’t have enough to eat?


Works Cited:
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/07/american-food-waste/491513/
https://www.goingzerowaste.com/

Comments

Anonymous said…
We can start by shopping only for food that we know that we will consume and on need basis. Also, while cooking figuring out portion sizes that are appropriate may help us conserve the food that we make so we can use it to fulfill more than just one time of the day. If we pile up with a little less than what we usually eat we can ensure that nothing will go to waste. This may be a huge stretch, but we could also revert back to the olden ways where it isn’t three meals a day, but just one that has all of the calories and nutrients packed in it. Maybe that’s too huge of a stretch, but precision and knowing ourselves will help combat food waste. Also, I feel as if many people may not know where exactly to go to give away their food that they don’t want to eat, and signs should be put up for awareness so people take a moment and reconsider before throwing.
February 6, 2019 at 10:10 AM
Anonymous said…
Composting and bringing your own bags are a great and easy way to implament a waste-reducing lifestyle for many people. Already, I can see these shifts in our society due to the propaganda to “go green.” My family as well as many of my friends compost and rarely use plastic bags to go shopping. Besides this way to reduce waste, grocery stores should donate the unused food to homeless shelters or other places in need. This would allow them to keep their “perfect” look as well as create a more efficient system.
February 6, 2019 at 11:02 AM
Anonymous said…
We need to start buying food we know we will eat and we could meal prep to help save and conserve food. Meal prepping allows us to know what we are eating and distribute the food into many meals without wasting food as you would be making your meals one day in the week, for the week. Beyond meal prepping, buying food you will eat is different than food you want to eat. Food is wasted, for me at least, is because I forget I bought it and before I realize, its too late for me to eat it. This is a problem that I encounter quite often but with buying food I eat daily or weekly can stop this problem and safe me some cash too. This is affordable and it saves the environment too. If people all over the world start doing these things, this problem could be minimized and become smaller problems or cease to exist.
February 6, 2019 at 11:06 AM
Anonymous said…
I think many Americans have been conditioned to think that “ugly” foods are not good foods. Many automatically assume that an abnormality on an apple or carrot means that the food is not good for consumption. One way grocery stores could encourage people to buy these foods and lessen the waste could be to lower the price - not by much - of the so-called “ugly” foods. That way, more people would be likely to buy them and others could afford them better. If grocers are really concerned that no one will buy the ugly foods, why not give them to shelters? That way, the foods don’t get just thrown away and are actually being eaten and appreciated, while also helping someone.
February 6, 2019 at 11:07 AM
Anonymous said…
Implementing a zero-waste style into our lives will take time and work, but it will definitely help in the long run. Using reusable bags or recyclable bags can help solve waste problems. Also, we must spread this information to other people; otherwise, we are not going to make as big of an impact as we can. Once others see these facts, they will want to join. Instead of throwing away “ugly foods,” we can give it to people in need, like to homeless shelters. As you mentioned, 1 in 6 Americans don’t know when their next meal will be, so why not give it to them. Also, we can store food for later use instead of throwing them away after only days. All in all, if we spread the word and begin to implement this lifestyle into ours, we can make a big impact.
February 6, 2019 at 3:56 PM
Anonymous said…
I think that those numbers, 60 million tons and 40% wasted, are ridiculous. My family and everyone I know throws old food out, but there are easy solutions to the problem. The zero-waste plan is a way that will help less food be wasted. People should only buy what they need at the grocery store, instead of excess food that will be thrown out. The simple act of buying less will help the environment and save you money. The other issue, the hungry Americans, can be improved starting at the grocery store, too. The "ugly" foods can be donated to shelters or sold at a discounted price. Food waste is a huge problem in the US, and we should all take these steps to help fix it.
February 6, 2019 at 4:18 PM
Anonymous said…
My home is pretty green; We recycle, have a compost area in the back yard, use all the food we have, etc. I do admit, sometimes we overlook items in the fridge and they turn sour. A zero waste lifestyle isn't too far off from what I've been doing my life, but it won't be as easy for everyone else. I think education through implication is vital in this situation. Instead of just throwing imperfect food away, why don't we give it to people in need? The response would probably be "well that would cost money" but it'll probably cost that person/company the same amount to throw it away than to give to a shelter or to someone in need.
February 6, 2019 at 6:48 PM
Anonymous said…
I think this is a crazy problem! Throwing away food that is good to eat just because it does not look perfects is a wasteful thing to do. Produce like this especially could be put to better use than being put in the trash. There are so many people who are going hungry or cannot afford produce that is filled with vital nutrients. Giving this “ugly” produce to those who need it would be a much better alternative. Also, when buying groceries, we can ask for the “ugly” produce and choose to buy that instead because it is less likely to get bought and more likely to get tossed. I once read about this girl who went four years and all the waste she used fit inside a mason jar. If we all lived like her, our planet would be in better shape. She said that she would eat lots of produce that she bought using reusable bags to eliminate waste.
February 6, 2019 at 7:16 PM
Anonymous said…
I think shopping for food after observing what you eat is a good way to start. Also eating whatever is in your own house instead of eating what you crave is important. I think everyone has a habit of picking the pettiest vegetables or fruits, therefore picking the ones with a spot or a weird shape may help decrease the food waste. Also parents must enforce the topic of not wasting food. Bringing our own bags is also a good way to reduce waste.
February 7, 2019 at 7:51 AM
Anonymous said…
I think in America, people don’t think about food waste as much as other countries. To think that 40% of food waste is being produced is quite appalling. I think the food packaging waste can be solved quickly if the stores didn’t provide a small plastic bag or prepackage everything. It would force the customers to bring their own bags and reuse it. Also, we can help reduce food waste while helping people who don’t have enough to eat by not being greedy. No matter what others say, people will buy a lot of food products they like. However, instead of throwing away what they wouldn’t eat, people can donate them before it goes expired to food banks or other organizations.
February 7, 2019 at 8:17 AM
Anonymous said…
In my opinion, I think the good way to get rid of old food is to maybe develop a system that allows the waste disposer to transform the food waste to a rich soil where we could utilize it to enrich our farm lands. Also I think it would be an important idea for us to inform everyone how much food we are throwing away. If everyone is aware of these shockign statistics, I think everyone would be further more careful dealing with food. I also believe that the stores and factories(producers) should be responsible in fixing the packging maybe implementing a system that allows the customers to bring their own containers and bags in buying whatever they need.
February 7, 2019 at 10:49 AM
Anonymous said…
In America, especially where we live, I don’t think that people recognize the amount of waste they produce. People tend to buy tons of food on impulse, and don’t think about what they truly need and use. As a result, after an expiration date has passed for food they bought and didn’t use, they just throw it away. Over time, the amount of waste per person in a household increasaes, and people don’t think about their environmental impact. However, 60 tons fo food waste being produced per year is still alarming. I think that people should start a compost to throw away food they don’t use, or donate it to homeless shelters so that it will t least be of use to some people instead of no one. We should also start being conscious of what we buy in stores, and try not to buy things we don’t think we’ll eat or use up.
February 7, 2019 at 10:51 AM
Anonymous said…
I completely agree. The zero-waste plan would be a perfect solution for thereto be less food wasted and therefore, a healthier enviornment. Us as Americans always have more than we need, and thisis why we should buy just what we need at the grocery store in order to not put at risk an unnecessary amount of waste. If there is some food that has no use, i agree that it should be donated to shelters or resold in order to make it useful and more effective.
February 7, 2019 at 6:51 PM
Anonymous said…
It’s crazy to think how nearly half of our produce is essentially wasted and unnecessarily disposed of. Not only can those items be recycle or donated to homeless shelters, but “prettiness” shouldn’t affect how we eat. Food is food and when it comes down to it ugly foods provide the same nutrients, taste, and serve the same purpose. We should spread more awareness of this topic and treat food how we should treat people. As one shouldn’t judge someone based on appreance, we should also try to refrain from judging food by its appearance as we know the nutrients provided by each produce is the same.
February 8, 2019 at 5:41 AM
Anonymous said…
I didn't know that’s how much of our produce was wasted, and I agree, we can recycle, donate, or complete our food waste. We can lessen the overall statistic if we do something about it. Overall, that would help the environment in the long run.
February 8, 2019 at 10:30 AM
Anonymous said…
I have noticed in my own household that we buy so many different foods that go bad before we even get a chance to open or finish them. It’s an important topic because food waste is a growing cause of waste even though it’s fairly preventable since many types of organic matter can be reused. Some foods could be used as natural fertilizer put it in compost. As far as containers are concerned, it’s moslty up to the companies to reduce the amount of packages being used.
February 9, 2019 at 5:34 PM
Anonymous said…
Those statistics are very shocking. There is no reason why we should be producing that much food waste when there are simple steps that everyone can take to reduce it. We can refuse to purchase food that has been heavily packaged, eat everything that we buy, and bring our own containers to the store, as you said. These ideas are very easy to implement, so it is confusing why more people haven’t started. A big part of this, however, will rely on the companies. They need to reduce packaging and start making the packaging out of recyclable materials rather than plastic. Stores shouldn’t not refuse “ugly” food. The attractiveness of food is not something that stores should be judging when deciding whether or not to sell it. If they really don’t want to sell them, they should either offer them for a lower price or donate them to food bank, instead of throwing them away.
February 9, 2019 at 9:29 PM
Anonymous said…
It’s hard to beleive that 40% of food in the US goes to waste, given how vital food is for us. I think to fix this issue people need to be more conscious of the amount of food they are buying. When people go the store to buy food, they often buy more than they need for a particular time, which leads to unused food going bad and being thrown away. However, the effort to cut down on food waste can’t be accompslished solely through households and individuals. Companies must find ways to cut down on the use of plastic and other non recyclable materials in their packaging.
February 11, 2019 at 9:24 AM
Anonymous said…
I believe another solution to this problem could be the redistribution or recycling of left over foods. Whatever isn’t sold can be used to create food for livestock and other animals as most of them consume feed and need large portions to support the amount of livestock bred. Although some foods would not be able to be fed to animals, a good portion of the food created into feed would definitely provide some benefits and cycle the food that we produce.
February 11, 2019 at 10:32 AM
Anonymous said…
When I worked at Sprouts, we did actually throw away any produce with the slightest imperfections and would lead to boxes of produce being thrown away as there were duds in every batch. Some of these foods could be “fixed” by cutting out the top layer of a cabbage or lettuce. Now another way is to donate the produce that are usually not picked because of size to be used for people that need it. Another big issue is the types of packaging and bags used at stores that aren’t really needed. Grocery stores can implement a discount like how Sprouts does for bringing your own bag by taking off five cents I each bag you bring as a way to atttract people to bring their own bags as an incentive of saving.
February 12, 2019 at 8:20 AM
Anonymous said…
In order to combat the immense amount of food waste, grocers should join a recently made app that functions as a mediator between grocery stores, restaurants, and bakeries. Food that is about to be thrown away can be claimed by homeless shelters as donation areas can not take perishable foods. This food can then be used for the next day’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This donated food would make an invaluable difference in people’s lives as they are in need. In addition, when it comes to reusable packaging, bringing one’s own grocery bags instead of using plastic would make all the difference. Plastic is made up of compounds that are not normally found in nature, therefore it is not biodegradable. Nature does not have the metabolic processes to decompose plastic. While this may be an inconceivable idea, creating mainstream alternatives to plastic packaging should be considered if we want to even think about becoming a zero-waste society. In our society, especially in Flower Mound, we do not recognize the sheer importance of having food on the table everyday. If we educated ourselves more on that state of the world and global hunger, we would be more willing to care about the hunger problem. In essence, food should not be thrown away, but given to people that truly need it.
February 12, 2019 at 9:23 AM
Anonymous said…
I think food waste is something that we, as most of us are well to do, think nothing much about. But, the amount of media targeted towards waste is targeted for the individual, claiming that us people make the problem. These PSA s by corporations are meant to distract from the fact that billions of tons of waste is produced each year, much more important to reduce than the average consumer. While it is true that we should all do the little things to help the planet, we should also focus on reducing corporate wastage instead.
February 12, 2019 at 3:17 PM
Anonymous said…
It’s hard to believe how much of our food goes to waste. It’s one thing to forget about it in your fridge and then throw it away once it has gone bad—something that can easily be fixed by only buying food that we know will be used before the expiration date—but for food to be thrown away for being “ugly” is ridiculous! People are so used to thinking that ugly food is equal to bad food but that’s simply not the case. If consumers at the grocery store are not willing to eat this food, there are plenty of people less fortunate than us who would gladly take it. Donating the foods would be a very beneficial way to reduce this amount of food waste.
February 12, 2019 at 6:59 PM
Anonymous said…
I believe that everyone should become more educated about the waste that they are creating with foods and that throwing away food that has the slightest physical imperfection is ridiculous. Instead of throwing away these imperfect foods, the company should just discount them and reduce millions of tons of waste. Every human should also switch out of using plastic bags. While plastic bags are used by most Americans, I believe that if these people were informed of the amount of waste plastic bags create and how many go into the ocean and harm marine creatures, they would make the switch to bring their own bags to put groceries in. Overall, the company and the consumer needs to do a better job at limiting waste.
February 12, 2019 at 7:01 PM
Anonymous said…
I agree. So much of our food goes to waste and it is very sad to think about because it is easy for us to throw away food without thinking of the implication. A solution could be to package our foods with biodegradable material so that less waste is produced. Donating food to homeless shelters could help reduce food waste as well. Recycling of leftover foods will help promote more food conservation and it starts right in our community. We can promote these new practices in order to create awareness of this issue, as it is something that is taken so lightly in our world today.
February 12, 2019 at 7:21 PM
Anonymous said…
I've always thought that "ugly foods" are turned into dog food or they are blended into a paste and used for industrial purposes. I do agree that the use of packaging is absurd, mainly the plastic bags in grocery stores. Especially because it wouldn't be that hard for consumers to bring their own plastic bags. Plastic grocery bags are banned in China because they're stupid. The US should place a similar ban.
February 12, 2019 at 8:20 PM
Anonymous said…
To reduce the amount of food waste we should be able to buy the food we need based on quantity. Instead of buying too much and end up throwing them away due to expiration or other causes we can have exactly the amount of food we need. A common issue is that most people buy an extra quantity of food because they think it will last them longer and in that case they wouldn't have to go to the shop often, but that certain item won't be the only think you will eat. Over time it may expire or be forgotten and eventually wasted.We can reduce food waste while also helping people who don’t have enough to eat by donating our extra food to the homeless or organization that raise food for the poor.
February 13, 2019 at 6:04 PM
Anonymous said…
I think we should begin starting to utilize the dilivery meal plans. On average they cost around the same or even cheaper than shopping the normal way. They send you Pre portioned meals that are easy to cook and take little time. Being that they are portioned this way, the amount of waste left behind drops dramatically. Meal plans are the way to go to avoid waste of food in my own opinion.
February 15, 2019 at 10:26 AM
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