English Assignment
Running Head: OBJECTIVE REPORT
Objective Report on Food Wastage
Over 1800 years ago, a proverb from a Chinese wise man specified that “food is a basic requirement to man” (Kevin et al. 3). Years later, providing adequate food to feed the growing global population of over 7.5 billion people remains a major challenge. The current statistics reveal that one in eight people lack adequate food to promote a healthy life (Kevil et al. 5). This problem is expected to worsen as the world’s population approaches 10 billion by 2050. Thus, alongside the growing food problem are the extensively debated issues of climate change and environmental degradation. According to Kevil et al., food wastage is the leading factor that contributes to greenhouse gases (3). The degradation releases carbon dioxide that is a common environmental concern (Kevil et al. 3). In spite of these problems, most families in America are wasting more food than they consume.
Every day, the average food wastage in a typical American family amounts to nearly a pound. There is a growing concern that nearly half of the food bought ends up in the waste. Within a year, this wastage is comparable to tossing over 400 million barrels into trash cans (Cuellar et al. 6461). Annually, there is a loss of nearly 3 percent of the total energy through food wastage. These statistics prove that food wastage is a contentious habit that cannot fade unnoticed in American society. People in this country and across the world are dying due to starvation (Reich & Foley 4). Every dollar counts in today’s volatile global economy and any action that constitutes to wastage should be carefully examined and remedied. After the resolution of this problem, America could end up saving more than 3 % of the total energy every year (Cuellar et al. 6461). Nevertheless, there is a growing concern that despite the growing debate around food wastage, hardly any intervention has been adopted and implemented at the family and community level.
Reducing the food wastage is a sure way to combat the looming starvation and sustainably feed America and the global population. According to Parfitt and colleagues, the food wastage in the global supply chain have a re-assessment for the wellbeing of future generations (2). The statistics and research findings by Cuellar and colleagues accentuate the need to cut down on the food wastage (6467). Reducing the food wastage is the best chance for the global society to alleviate food insecurity through redistribution to the needy families (Munesue et al. 73). It is encouraging to realize that the efforts to address and create awareness on food wastage have grown rapidly in the recent years. More media outlets are critically examining this issue than before. Activists and volunteers have embarked on food rescue activities. Different charity organizations have collaborated with the food processors to intensify the campaigns on food wastage. Parfitt et al. agree that reducing food wastage is a sure way to prevent an awaiting disaster (2). The opportunities to avert food wastage exist in the families, retail sectors, and farms (Parfitt et al. 4). Agreeably, not all the cases of food loss can be averted bearing in mind perishable nature of most foods, the cost of collecting, transportation and handling, the intricacy of some consumer behaviors, and the need to ensure consumer safety (O'Donnell et al. 35). Nevertheless, a certain level of food wastage reduction may be attained by adopting the recommendations highlighted by O'Donnell et al. (3). The recommended measures include imparting skills or knowledge to target habits such as ingredient usage, leftover handling, and storage of perishable food to prevent spoiling. The nutritional education will prevent overconsumption and encourage budgeting for the foods bought in a family for certain duration.
In summation, providing adequate food to feed the growing global population remains a challenge. The problem is expected to worsen as the world’s population approaches 10 billion in the next few decades. In spite of this future uncertainty, most families in America are wasting more food than they consume. The paper confirms the growing concern that nearly half of the food bought ends up in the waste. Such a trend could lead to untenable demand for natural resources. As the global society continues to ignore the recommendations made by environmentalists and economists, they continue to plunge the future generation into more problems. Certainly, reducing the food wastage is a sure way to combat the looming starvation and sustainably feed America and the global population. The opportunities to avert food wastage exist in the families, retail sectors, and farms. The recommended measures include imparting skill or knowledge related habits such as ingredient usage, leftover handling, and storage of perishable food to prevent spoiling.
Works Cited
Cuellar, Amanda, and Michael E. Webber. "An Updated Estimate for Energy Use in U.S. Food Production and Policy Implications." ASME 2010 4th International Conference on Energy Sustainability, vol. 1, no. 2, 2010, pp. 6460-6499
Gunders, Dana. “How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Forkto Landfill.” NRDC, 16 Aug. 2017, https://www.nrdc.org/resources/wasted-how-america-losing-40-percent-its-food-farm-fork-landfill . Accessed 23 Oct. 2017.
Kevin, Hall, Juen Guo, Michael Dore, and Carson Show. “The Progressive Increase of Food Waste in America and Its Environmental Impact.” Plos.org. 25 Nov. 2009, http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0007940 . Accessed 23 Oct. 2017.
Munesue, Yosuke., Toshihiko Masui, and Takesato Fushima. “The effects of reducing food losses and food waste on global food insecurity, natural resources, and greenhouse gas emissions.” Environmental Economics & Policy Studies, vol. 17, no. 1, 2015, pp. 43-77.
O'Donnell, Tom, John Dentsch, and Ron Pepino. “New Solutions for Food Loss and Waste Prevention.” Biocycle, vol. 56, no. 11, 2015, pp. 34-38.
Parfitt, Julian, Mark Barthel, and Sarah Macnaughton. “Food Waste within Food Supply Chains: Quantification and Potential for Change to 2050.” The Royal Society Publishing, 16 Oct. 2010, http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/365/1554/3065.short . Accessed 23 Oct. 2017.
Reich, Alexandria, and Jonathan Foley. “Food Loss and Waste in the US: The Science behind the Supply Chain.” Food Policy Research Center. 3 Apr. 2014, https://www.foodpolicy.umn.edu/policy-summaries-and-analyses/food-loss-and-waste-us-science-behind-supply-chain . Accessed 23 Oct. 2017.
Parfitt Julian, Barthel Mark, and Macnaughton Sarah. “Food Waste within Food Supply Chains: Quantification and Potential for Change to 2050.” The Royal Society Publishing, 2010. http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/365/1554/3065.short>. Accessed 12 October 2017
Kevin, D. Hall, Juen Guo, Michael Dore, and Carson C Show. “The Progressive Increase of Food Waste in America and Its Environmental Impact.” Plos.org. 2009. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0007940. Accessed
12 October 2017.
summaries-and- analyses/food-loss- and-waste- us-science- behind-supply- chain Reich, A., Foley, J. (2014, April). Food Loss and Waste in the US: The Science Behind the Supply Chain. Retrieved February 18, 2016, from https://www.foodpolicy.umn.edu/policy