Stop Food Waste!

Think of this, it’s a hot summer day and you are hungry. You check the fridge and find foods you didn’t know you had way past their expiration date. You throw away the food and put it into the trash. What just happened was wasting food that could  be used to eat or cook. In America, we need to stop wasting food,  support our farmers,  make gardens and  donate to local food banks to help homeless people. Food waste, the act of throwing away food products, should stop immediately in The United States Of America.

A good start to stopping food waste is to start a garden. Gardens are not only useful as you’re growing your food. They  also help with deleting your waste footprint. Gardening is a vital part of a climate solution. If everybody had a garden,  there would be fewer farms emitting greenhouse gasses. There would still be greenhouse gasses but, there would be fewer of them and everything counts. Greenhouse gases cause climate change by trapping heat and greenhouse gasses contribute to respiratory disease from smog and air pollution (Carbon Dioxide…Know). You should also help your farmers if you know any. Farmers have to deal with growing crops in the summer just for over 15% of the food to be wasted before it even leaves the farm (Food Loss…Level). This is a huge drain on the environment because 30% of fertilizer, 35% of fresh water, and 31% of croplands used to grow food got wasted which is crazy to think about ( Americans May…Think). Fruits and vegetables are the most wasted food because some fruits and vegetables are seen as ugly or unappealing. These fruit and vegetables taste the same but just look different enough for them to get wasted. The market of some crops is too low in price and gets wasted. Another reason for waste is that there is a surplus of the type of crop, and the extra crops get wasted and don’t make it to the market. These are all terrible things that happen because of food waste. A garden can help a lot.

The next thing to help stop food waste is to not waste food. It sounds simple but it’s truly one of the best ways to stop food waste. It might be hard trying to not waste food because you would have to use everything you have. You might not be a good cook and have no idea what to do. Don’t worry as you can always learn no matter what age you are. You don’t have to buy ingredients to cook food and can just get some foods that were already made. Anything helps because food loss and waste are one of the top contributors to climate change. After all, it releases greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere (How Food…Change). Greenhouse gas is a terrible thing that can be fixed by not wasting food. Food waste costs Americans more than 218 billion dollars annually. The average American family of four uses $1,600 a year because of food waste. If you multiply that by the 18 years a kid lives at home, you could pay for a full year of college tuition (Food Waste…2023). These are all crazy to think about. The next time you see something in your fridge that you have not had yet, try and use it. 

Stopping food waste would not help lower classes get food if food waste stopped. This is not true because if there was more food that didn’t get wasted more food would be able to be donated and eaten. The market would drop because there would be more food and lower-class families might be able to afford more food than they have. There is a downside to this because farmers will be getting less revenue, and if there was a surplus there would be more food wasted. If everybody got food, an abundant amount of food would be wasted. This is bad, however, there are so many things to do with food if you are thinking about throwing it away. First of all, donating is a simple but effective way to give food to people in your country or not. Food waste can also be made into compost. Compost is a plant fertilizer that can be used to help crops by improving the structure and health of your soil by adding organic matter (Composting…Home). If you have pets you can feed the food you were about to waste to them. Be careful and make sure to research whether what you’re throwing out is healthy for a dog to eat. Even though there are many uses for food waste it is better to use it than waste it so, don’t start wasting food and use excuses. 

The most vital way to stop food waste is by donating to local food banks. This is one of the best ways to stop food waste. Not only are you donating extra food but, you’re giving it away to people who need it. This is important because it gives people in need food. Some people desperately need food and donating to a food bank would help a lot. You can even cook to donate. Not only are you helping starving people, and helping solve climate change, but you are also helping yourself get rid of your waste footprint. There are some great organizations out there that help people with food banks. Everything they do is for a great cause and you could help too. You can even donate money to the food banks as anything helps. Food waste might not seem that important in your life right now but it has a strong effect on the environment, other people’s lives, and maybe in your life in the future. The next time you have a surplus of food or even a little amount donate it or use it.

Works Cited

“Americans May Be Wasting More Food Than They Think” John Hopkins Center for a Liveable Future. 10 Jun. 2022. Web. Feb 10. 2023.

Bandoim, Lana. “The Shocking Amount of Food U.S. Households Waste Every Year. Forbes. 

      Web. 26 Jan. 2020. 10 Feb. 2023.

“Food Waste in America in 2023” RTS. n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2023.

Hitaj, Claudia. “Food Loss at Farm Level” USDA. 29 Jul. 2021. Web. 10 Feb. 2023.

McClellan, Jennifer. “Americans Waste Food Because We’re Confused – and Because We Can.

      Azcentral. 30 May. 2017. Web. 10 Feb. 2023.

Milman, Oliver. “Americans Waste 150,000 Tons of Food Each Day – Equal to a Pound Per 

      Person. The Guardian. 18 Apr. 2018. Web. 10 Feb. 2023.

Nunez, Christina. “Carbon Dioxide Levels Are at a Record High. Here’s What You Need to 

      Know” National Geographic. 13 May. 2019. Web. 10 Feb. 2023.

“Reducing Food Loss and Waste.” The Global Foodbanking Network. n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2023.

“Reducing the Impact of Wasted Food by Feeding the Soil and Composting” EPA. Nov 15. 2022. 

      Web.10 Feb. 2023.

Walton, Jes. “Reduce Your Waste Footprint With Gardening” Green America. 15 Jun. 2020. 

      Web. 10 Feb. 2023.