Introduction
Many people die of starvation each year while millions of pounds of food are also wasted around the world every year. According to Harvard, food loss is when food becomes unusable in transit before it can reach a customer. However, food waste is food which could be consumed but is thrown away at retail stores or in households. Although both are different, the amount of food wasted in both scenarios could be reduced significantly if changes were made. In today’s blog we will speak on both types of squandered food and some potential solutions.
Overview
According to the USDA, “In the United States, over one-third of all available food goes uneaten through loss or waste”. Reducing both food loss and waste is beneficial for both the environment and the economy. Reducing food loss and waste would be beneficial for the economy as reducing the amount of food that is lost would lower the cost of food across the United States and the world. Not to mention, this extra food could go towards food banks and other institutions which could help homeless people get back on their feet.
Food Loss
As defined earlier, food loss is food that is food that is ruined before it gets to a customer. This loss could be prevented through many ways. With how globalized our world is, much of the food we eat is imported and grown in different places. By developing better methods of transportation, one could hypothetically reduce the food that is lost in transit significantly. In addition, food with preservatives last longer. However, some of these preservatives are known to cause adverse health effects so it would be highly debatable whether we should use these preservatives in our food to help them to last longer and reduce food loss.
Food Waste
Food waste is food that is viable for consumption, but for one reason or another, is ruined before it is consumed. One of the main issues with food waste is the principle that we do not have perfect information. When one walks into a grocery store, for the most part they always have what you need. This also means that there is a lot of food, especially produce, which goes bad before it is sold and consumed. As stores and companies get more information about what consumers want and when they want it, they will be able to not only reduce the food wasted, but also increase their revenue resulting in a win-win scenario for both the environment and the economy.
Conclusion
There are options that would potentially immediately help with solving some of these issues. However, the other effects that these solutions would bring would cause other issues in and of themselves. With that being said, new technology and other solutions are constantly being developed which should help to reduce both food loss and food waste.
Sources
Harvard School of Public Health. “Food Waste.” Hsph.harvard.edu, https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/sustainability/food-waste/#:~:text=This%20waste%20is%20categorized%20differently%20based%20on%20where,consciously%20discarded%20at%20the%20retail%20or%20consumption%20phases.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Food Loss and Waste.” USDA, https://www.usda.gov/foodlossandwaste.
