Food Wast - America's New Plague

FOOD AMERICA'S NEW PLAGUE WASTE THE WORLD'S POPULATION... KEEPS GROWING MORE PEOPLE IT WILL REACH 9 BILLION IN 2050 Perhaps we should look first at how much food we are wasting. MORE FOOD NEEDED TO FEED THEM IT'S ESTIMATED THAT NEARLY HALF OF OUR HOW ARE WE GOING TO PRODUCE ALL THIS EXTRA FOOD FOOD SUPPLY IS WASTED! IT'S NOT BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH-WE HAVE SO MUCH WE CAN'T HANDLE IT PROPERLY WE HAVE A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH THE PRODUCTION PROCESS. It's not just individuals throwing out uneaten food (although that's a problem) Farmers are "covering their bases" and over harvesting crops This results in an oversupply beyond what the market demands THE END RESULT? MORE THAN 6 BILLION POUNDS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES ARE UNSOLD OR UNHARVESTED EACH YEAR. TRASHED AT the storefront Let's talk about Farm processes certainly aren't all to blame. A great deal of waste also occurs at the retail level: 43 BILLION POUNDS TRASHED IN 2008, AND WHY. Richer nations also tend to value aesthetic/non-nutritive qualities in food NOT PERFECTLY SHAPED/COLORED/SIZED? THROWN AWAY! An investigation THAT EDIBLE CARROTS THAT into a British carrot supplier showed WERE NOT PERFECTLY STRAIGHT WERE SOLD AS ANIMAL FEED. THE REASON: CONSUMERS SHOULD BE ABLE TO PEEL THEM WITH ONE STROKE. America the land of plenty AND PLENTY THROWN AWAY IT PROBABLY COMES AS NO SURPRISE THAT THE USA IS A PRIME FOOD-WASTER EXPIRED EXPIRED FOOD IS $2,000 Almost none of these "sell-by" dates are legally regulated -they're just guidelines ALSO A PROBLEM Every day, a store tosses on average more than: worth of food that has passed the "sell-by" date. VIRTUALLY ALL OF THE FOOD IS STILL FINE TO EAT! Stores in general are concerned with a "freshness" image of "bounty" This causes them to throw out ready-made items (such as deli food) after a very short amount of time They don't allow displays to sell out; rather keep restocking and throwing out older items PRESET ORDERS OF PRODUCE ARE OFTEN TOO LARGE FOR SOME STORES, RESULTING IN OVERSTOCK AND WASTE. developing countries Although Americans can waste up to 10 times more food than someone in, say, Southeast Asia-developing countries have issues with food distribution as well. DIFFERENT ISSUES WASTE ALSO OCCURS BUT IN A TOTALLY DIFFERENT PLATFORM Almost none is wasted at the consumer level: Families can't afford to waste food APPLES HOWEVER, MORE THAN HALF THE FOOD LOSS OCCURS EARLY often prematurely harvest crops, ON IN THE PRODUCTION CYCLE Farmers in need of food or money resulting in some of it being unfit for consumption THE LACK OF PROPER STORAGE FACILITIES AND TRANSPORTATION TO MARKET CAN ALSO RESULT IN THE LOSS OF A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF FOOD WOULD YOU EAT THIS? In some developing countries, rice is dried the natural way LAID OUT IN THE SUN Although this method sounds organic and has been around for centuries, it can expose the grain to rodents and parasites, ruining some of it for safe consumption. feeding into a solution Reducing food losses by just 15% IT'S CLEAR THAT COULD FEED AN ESTIMATED 25 MILLION AMERICANS PER YEAR REDISTRIBUTION WILL HELP THE GLOBAL FOOD SUPPLY NEEDS TREMENDOUSLY. -and this could be applied globally as well. SO WHAT ARE THE BEST STEPS TO TAKE? IMPERFECT BUT STILL EDIBLE COOPERATION AND COMMUNICATION BETWEEN FARMERS: FOODS CAN BE MADE INTO READY-TO-EAT PRODUCTS, A surplus of one farm's harvest could supplement a shortage on another, solving the problem of overproduction SOLD AT DISCOUNTS OR AS PART OF STORE INCENTIVE PROGRAMS EXPIRATION DATE EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH TO CONSUMERS ON "SELL-BY" DATES STORES CAN COMMUNICATE WITH SHOPPERS: AND WHAT THEY REALLY MEAN GOING A STEP FURTHER, SPECIAL MARKETS OR CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS COULD BE DEVELOPED TO SELL ONLY "DAMAGED" OR SUBSTANDARD DO THEY CARE IF THE FRUIT IS NOT THE RIGHT SIZE? ITEMS THAT ARE PERFECTLY FINE FOR CONSUMPTION WOULD THEY PAY LESS FOR SOMETHING THAT STILL TASTES GOOD? | DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS CAN WORK TO CREATE CENTRAL MARKETING SYSTEMS FOR FARMERS, MAKING IT EASIER TO PRODUCE SAFE PRODUCT AND OF COURSE, START AT HOME WITH THE SIMPLE THINGS: A LITTLE THOUGHT CAN BE PUT INTO REDUCING WASTE ON THE HOUSEHOLD LEVEL THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU THROW AWAY: CAN IT BE USED? Scour social media for creative leftover ideas: Pinterest has a wealth of tasty tips for second-time-around meals (just search "leftovers")! DON'T ASSUME ANYTHING CAN'T THESE ARE JUST A FEW IDEAS TO START BE REUSED, AND DON'T FORGET THE BASICS: BONES MAKE SOUP, WORKING ON THE GROWING ISSUE OF FOOD SHORTAGE IN THE WORLD, BUT AS DEMONSTRATED BY THE FIGURES HERE, A LITTLE EFFORT CAN FEED A LOT! BRUISED PRODUCE CAN BE PUT IN BAKED ITEMS, ETC. GroceryCoupon SOURCE Network http://www.grocerycouponnetwork.com/community/facts-about-food-waste/ www.GroceryCouponNetwork.com