However, food waste isn’t just at the consumer level.

1- “One third of food is lost or wasted”

In developed countries, an estimated 20 percent of food is wasted on the farm or from improper or inadequate drying, storage, packaging and transportation.

It’s not just consumers that are picky about their produce. Market-based quality or grade standards also play an unintentional role in food waste.

Food waste isn’t only what consumers scrape off their plate or leave to rot in their refrigerator. It begins on the farm and can be driven by a whole host of factors beyond the grower’s control. Weather, pests, disease, low market prices or high labor costs all lead to food left in the field. Food that may look perfectly ripe and edible in the field may be too ripe by the time it reaches the consumer, so it’s never harvested.

Sainsbury’s mission to reduce food waste |…

Spang led a team of researchers examining global food loss and waste in a study published in the journal . The comprehensive review finds that there are larger systemic factors that drive food waste. The study points to the need to look at structural, cultural and social factors rather than only focusing on actions by individual producers and consumers.

Growing food also uses resources: 20 percent of our land, 32 percent of the energy we produce and 70 percent of the water we withdraw from lakes, rivers and underground. When we waste food, we’re wasting those resources. It ends up in our landfills, creating pollution and greenhouse gases.

Nearly one-third of all the food produced in the world is never eaten. By some estimates, we waste 30 million tons of food in the U.S. and 1.3 billion metric tons worldwide every year. All this waste has huge economic, environmental and social costs.

Why should we reduce food wastage?I. IntroductionA. Attention getter Statement: Every one of us like food and wanted it to be readily available all the time, wherever or whenever needed. How many of you think twice before throwing your food away?B. Statement of credibility: I work in a dining hall on campus and usually deal with serving food. At the end of my shift, I always see a lot of food being dumped into the garbage, and people leaving their plates almost full of food. C. Reason to listen: Food loss has been a global problem and a major issue in many countries like: India, Pakistan, Africa etc.D. Thesis Statement: By reducing food wastage, a noticeable change can be brought in the economy of many countries and increase the standard of living of the people. E. Preview of main points: I will

Food Waste globally | Essay i engelsk

And just like farmers, they need an incentive or some help to deliver food to food banks or stores selling imperfect food, because they really do not have the resources, transport, and money to do so. Supermarkets can help reduce food waste is make the difference between the dates printed on packages and foods in general standard to the public, so that consumers don’t automatically assume that food has gone bad or is tainted because it has hit whatever date is on it. We can also reduce food waste at directly at our homes instead of expecting farms and stores to do something. We already buy too much food that we actually need, and that usually ends up with us throwing out food that has gone bad since we forgot about it in the back of the fridge or in the kitchen. We also need better food dates on labels, so we are less inclined to think that food has gone bad the instant it hits whatever date is on the package. There also has been a decrease in people donating food, and since we aren’t constrained by the transport problems that farmers and markets are, it is easier for us to deliver and donate food ourselves. There are tax deductions for donating food to a food bank if it is a qualified charity though. We have an incentive, and there should be economic incentives for the larger sources of food, farms, and markets, to donate food as well.

Contact Us:Dr. Jean BuzbyUSDA Food Loss and Waste Liaison

All of us can do better to reduce food waste. Farmers are simply only the beginning of the issue, since they are the ones who grow the food, but they aren’t the ones who are solely responsible for wasting food. They're under pressure to pick only food that will meet the rigorous and strict standards that grocery stores and supermarkets set so that they can continue selling their products to them. They need some incentive to sell the imperfect and ugly food that they don't pick or just throw away, because right now it's not really financially viable for them to do so, and it's the same for stores as well. Stores have to be accountable for what they’re doing such as overstocking food and selling just the perfect food that appeals to customers.

Local authorities spend 1 billion pound a year disposing food waste.

But it’s not just farms and grocery stores that are throwing away blemished and imperfect produce, it’s also households who throw out edible food and waste products that are perfectly fine to consume. One reason could be that a lot of people forget that they buy large quantities of food since it’s usually cheaper to buy bulk, so a good amount of it goes bad before it actually gets used, and we have to throw it away so it just goes to waste in the end. Also, when it comes to food labels, we think that when foods hit that date on the package or the sticker, that food is all of sudden dangerous to eat and that we have to throw it out. Consumers most often than don't know the difference between "Sell by" and "Best before" dates, and that can lead to some unneeded food wastage at home due to people throwing away food that can still be eaten or that is still usable. These dates aren’t really indicators of food safety or health for consumers, and these labels are usually instead there for the stores to know when the peak freshness and quality pass. You can still consume the food after the date labeled on the food depending on what kind of food it is, and if you're storing it properly. For example, you can still drink milk up to 7 days after the date on the carton or crackers 2 to 4 weeks after the date on the package. Compared to farms and grocery stores, it is easier for households and individuals to avoid food waste since we do not have to worry about the large-scale problems they do when it comes to donating or preserving food. We can avoid food waste by learning what sell by and best by dates are, as well as knowing how long we can stretch out the food past those dates. We can also stop buying too much food that we do not end up using, or at least keep track and donate the food we don’t use. Having that food go to a food bank or a shelter is a better use of it than letting it spoil in the back of a fridge or in a pantry.