- Overall, who wastes the most food? Sources agree that the most food is wasted by the United States, Australia, and certain parts of Europe
- What type of food is most commonly wasted? Root tubers like potatoes, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, and milk all see nearly double the waste rates of most foods
- What is food insecurity?
- Food insecurity is defined by the USDA as not repeatedly not having enough food to be active and healthy, meaning one in five children right here in San Diego isn't getting the fuel they need to be a kid!
And most importantly...
How does this impact you?
How does this impact you?
Why food waste is such a problem
When food that can be eaten ends up in a landfill instead, it does two main things: costs money and pollutes.
The money issueLost food in America equates to about 165 billion wasted dollars annually, which means each year this is adding to the 21.2 trillion dollars the United States is already in debt
About 28% of the world's farmland goes towards producing food that ends up wasted(1.4 billion hectares) |
The eco-issue
3.3 gigatonnes of greenhouse gasses are generated by food waste annually across the world, and there are only two countries with higher emissions(China and America)
Like food that gets eaten, food waste has a carbon footprint. It's produced using machinery(such as tractors or by factories) and transported, but these emissions never lead to people being fed. Then once food gets to landfills and starts to sit, it produces excess amounts of methane .
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All this excess area used means farms are paying a lot of money to maintain and develop land to produce food that is never eaten. A lot of money that now can't be spent developing new methods of farming, alternatives to pesticides, and improving conditions for workers, all things that would benefit all of us
And of course...
.
The environmental damages from pollution caused by greenhouse gasses, as is released by food waste, amount to more than 6 percent of all the money the world makes
After seeing all this, it's likely you've realized wasted food is an important issue, and you may even want to know what you can do.
Well, I've got something for you!
If you click the button below, you'll be able to take the food waster survey and figure out whether you've got a heavy-waste household. Once you complete the survey you'll be able to find out all the ways your household can waste less, and be provided with interesting bonus links.
Well, I've got something for you!
If you click the button below, you'll be able to take the food waster survey and figure out whether you've got a heavy-waste household. Once you complete the survey you'll be able to find out all the ways your household can waste less, and be provided with interesting bonus links.