Every day, people around the world throw out leftovers, restaurants fill bins of food left on plates and their stock that is no longer usable, markets remove and toss the packaged food that is past it’s “sell by” date; fruits and vegetables that don’t look perfect enough are left in the fields or sorted out later. Along with all that wasted food goes the resources used for its production, its packaging, mostly plastic, and the resources used for their production. And every day people somewhere are dying of starvation.
A third of all food produced/grown is never eaten – 1.3 billion tons annually – enough to abundantly feed all of the hungry. This waste includes close to half of all fruits and vegetables, 30% of fish and cereals, and 20% of all meat and dairy. Just last week, to work towards addressing this issue, the United Nations launched Think, Eat, Save. to change the culture of food waste.
- Shop smart (e.g. not buying more than you need.)
- Fruits and veggies that are not perfectly beautiful probably taste as good.
- Understand expiration, “use by” and “sell by” dates.
- Look in the cupboard, the fridge, and choose something you have rather than going to the store.
- Request smaller portions at restaurants (or remember to enjoy the leftovers).
My brother used to tease me about how much some child in India would love those peas on my plate. And I always thought ”but how to get them to her?”
I’m still wondering.
You get them to India by introducing the only system that has ever produced such an abundance of food… here”s the big secret… the 2 word combination the left hate… free enterprise.
The waste at restaurants alone.