Importance Of Food Waste

Food waste is an increasingly important topic due to the environmental and financial impact it has. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, food waste is the” discarding of food that is safe and nutritious for human consumption along the entire food chain, from the initial production to the end household consumer level” (“Food Loss and Food Waste”). The role that consumers play in generating food waste is an important aspect of food waste that needs to be addressed to enact solutions. It is estimated by the United States Department of Agriculture that consumers wasted approximately “133 billion pounds of food and $161 billion worth of food in 2010” (“Food Waste Challenge”). Consumers not only play a crucial

One of the key points made in a literature review conducted by Waste and Resources Action Program in the UK is that many people lack the awareness of the food they are wasting because there is a disconnect from the activities that causes food waste and the consequence of wasting food (Household Food and Drink Waste: A People Focus 9). Food wastage is not apparent for many consumers today because consumers do not see the direct impact of their contribution to food wastage and lack an understanding of the importance of not wasting food. This difference in appreciating food and food wastage can be seen generationally. For example, households containing consumers who have lived in times where food was scarce like during the Great Depression or World War II have been shown not waste as much food as households with only young consumers (Aschemann-Witzel et al. 6464). This generational gap also highlights the importance of how the historical developments and advancements have shaped the food wastage behaviors of consumers

Food spoilage makes up the largest portion of food wastage by consumers, and food spoilage is often caused by improper management of food because consumers often do not have the motivation, knowledge, and ability to ensure that food is not wasted (Russell et al. 108). Preventing food waste is not the highest priority for people when they are managing their food but rather a focus on food quality, food safety, food tastes, and diets is what people often place ahead of making sure food does not get wasted. Consumers have some knowledge about how to manage food, but they often do not act accordingly. For example, people tend to maintain a refrigerator temperature that is too high and often do not understand the product’s packaging instructions for storage conditions (van Geffen et al. 25). Another way people mishandle food is by overpreparing food and not utilizing leftovers. People often prepare as much as possible without measuring the amount that they need, which creates leftovers. The reason that consumers throw out food after preparing too much is because they are not sure about what to do with their leftovers or partly used products like ingredients, sauces, and vegetables (van Dooren 5). These issues stem from the lack of knowledge and the skills on how to creatively utilize food and create solutions for managing