By Evie Bayer
Life. One word, but people may incorporate it differently as the word itself can be thought of and seen in endless ways.Though, when it comes to life, how many people are considerate and think about not just others, but the world around them too? For instance, isn’t it a blessing to have food on our plates so we don’t starve? Of course it is! However, isn’t it heartbreaking to see a kid at school buy a lunch, but then throw away a majority of what’s left on the tray? Isn’t it sad to see so much food being tossed, when there are several people in the world who are in need and starve daily?
The United States wastes approximately $165 billion in food every year while globally, “human beings produce enough food waste to feed 3 billion people” (Juul). People are constantly wasting nondurable goods by either putting too much on their plate, or by throwing away food that could be eaten as a leftover. In fact, 30% of the world’s food supply is wasted. Wasting food does not benefit anybody because in fact, one who does is also impacting themselves in an unfortunate way. If people have eyes bigger than their stomach, then taking smaller portions can be more beneficial. Additionally, if a person were to save their food, good can come out of it.When the consumer price index of retail goods and other items increases, people will have less money in her household to budget for other purchases. Therefore, it would be beneficial for people to save leftovers because they would save money.
Additionally, trade offs play a role in wasting food because people “must put thought into every purchase and how it affects one's bank account” (Study). Also, a person must think about the satisfaction a specific purchase will give us. People’s resources are limited, such as money and time. Therefore, people must choose how to best set aside their options by making trade-offs. Furthermore, it’s said that the earth’s population will reach 9 billion people by 2050. By then, “food production must be increased by 70% to meet demand” (Juul). Though, with people wasting more and more food, it only causes more issues. The UN estimates that in just 20 years, the earth’s population will need at least 50% more food, 45% more energy, and 30% more water. If people were to stop wasting food, our society would be changed.
Overall, people need to think outside the box when it comes to food. Rather than somebody throwing away food or eating something they’re bound to throw away in the end due to disliking a certain mean, think about how these actions could impact not just an individual, but the world around them as well.
Works Cited
Chan, Casey. "How Much Food Do We Waste Every Year?" Gizmodo, July 18, 2013
Chestney, Nina Chestney. “World lacks enough food, fuel, as population soars: U.N.” World News, Jan 30, 2012.
Hill, Aaron. "Trade-Offs in Economics: Definition & Examples." Study.com, 2003.
Juul, Selina. "Stop Wasting Food." Think Eat Save, 2014
I agree with what you're saying. I hate it when I see someone at school with a tray full and food and they just throw it away after two or three bites. People need to stop wasting food. As cliche as it sounds when someone says that "you should eat your food because there are kids in Africa starving". It's true. We are lucky to have food so accessible that people take that for granted and don't think of the world.
ReplyDeleteIn truth, food waste already has a bad reputation -- and for the right reasons. Food storage not only is bad for the environment, it contributes to plenty of costs as well. It costs millions just to have places to store the rotting food, and this cost continues for years, as in our system of landfills, the food can sit and rot for ages. This, on top of our already lavish need for consumable food, contributes to a huge cost, and could easily be dealt with with better education about the subject and a more informed public.
ReplyDeleteI have always had a problem with people wasting food. I understand if somebody can't finish a little bit of their meal, but it is unacceptable when people are throwing away full meals. Not only is it a waste of money, but it's a waste of resources. People in our country have a hard time grasping the reality that everything isn't infinite. They can't comprehend that there will be a time were resources are limited. With an increasing population, we should not buy food we don't need and then throw that food away. Our country needs to start thinking about the future instead of just the present. Throwing away food is an incredible waste, and that food is something that many people on this earth would actually kill for. It's time for people to wake up and realize what throwing a plate of food away really means.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the people everywhere should stop wasting food. However if people do stop wasting food and buy less food. Then won't some people be laid off of work since less food would want to be bought and sold. Which will raise the unemployment a little bit. So if people would just buy some extra food and donate that food to the poor than the starving people wouldn't starve as much from the food people donated. Even so people should still waist some food so that way people with jobs in the food area won't lose their jobs.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you're saying because even I throw food away and my parents would always say that there are poor people out there that doens't anything to eat and that would just kill me because now I'm wasting food and if I were to be in their position I would not feel okay. Overall wasting food is not okay and I feel like people should just get enough for themselves.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post because not many people think about this major issue. I agree that people should not waste food. People always like to buy more than they need. One of the first major steps America can do is to start composting, instead of sending the food to landfills. City’s could start having recycling bins just for food waste, and the food could be taken to be composted or broken down for bio gas or people could donate it back to the stores so that its not wasted and just thrown away.
ReplyDeleteWhen I see people taking a lot of food on their plate to eat I don't judge their decision. I do get upset when they don't finish what they decided to put on their plate. Many kids and even adults are starving all around the world just like you mentioned in your post. By taking what you know you can finish eating first will save the chances of having to waste food. I do agree with some of the comments above where we can use that wasted food and turn it into something useful like bio gas. There are many options for using this wasted food instead of just throwing it away and being left in the junkyard.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is sad to see people throwing away food when so many across the world need it. It would be really cool if we could somehow find a way to efficiently feed those in need, (which I'm not sure you were getting at, or about the progress of such programs working toward that), but doing so would cost us more resources, including time and money. I think such trade offs are what has stopped America from an intenser approach towards feeding the hungry in other countries.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the world doesn’t really have a food production problem, but a food distribution problem. So much food is wasted everyday in the United States especially while people in other countries are starving. This is not a very talked about issue but it clearly affects our economy in more ways than most people realize. This overproduction/waste of food in the US costs more money to dispose of the food that is being thrown away, and is also bad for the environment.
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