A third of the food intended for human consumption, 1.3 billion tons, is either wasted or lost.
This is a staggering amount of food. Enough to feed 3 billion people!
Food waste is an issue which doesn't get the same as attention climate change or deforestation.
With global extreme poverty set to increase for the first time in years due to the Covid crisis, we need to take action fast.
The United Nations predicts the global population will reach 10 billion by 2050. In 29 years, we'll have to feed 3 billion more people. If we keep wasting the amount of food we do today, it's an issue we'll struggle to solve.
The thing is, it's not the hardest issue to fix.
More than 50% of the food thrown away in the USA is for aesthetic reasons. Yes, a huge amount of food is consigned to the waste bin because it doesn't 'look good.'
This is absurd!
60 million tons of fruit and vegetable is thrown away in America because it's deemed 'too ugly' to be sold to consumers.
If we were less picky about the food we eat, we could prevent much of it from being thrown away.
Instead, it could find a way to those who need it most. The homeless, the less well off and people living in poverty across the globe.
Food waste is an underreported issue, but it's one we could fix with some foresight.
Companies could donate the food to good causes instead of throwing it away. We, the consumers, could ensure we use all the food we bought. If we don't, we can donate it to a local food bank or charity.
No one should be going without food in the 21st century.
Considering the vast resources available to us, a little foresight and frugality would do a whole lot of good.
Great thought-provoking article Tom. The statement you said, "60 million tons of fruit and vegetable is thrown away in America because it's deemed 'too ugly' to be sold to consumers" - this is so true, and not just in America but in the West as well. It seems from day one, we are conditioned to know what an apple, a banana, a tomato etc are supposed to look like through images we are taught at school, and that has cemented itself in peoples brains but no one seems to question it and find out about it. Whereas most of the time, the fruit and vegetables that look different are actually quite tasty. People need to educate themselves more and in that way, they will not waste food or like you said give it to someone who needs it most. It also seems that people like things that look good, it is quite sad and judgemental.