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How Supersized Portions Cost The Earth

thanksgiving dinner

By Rachel Smith

(CNN) We’re all familiar with the phrase “waste not, want not,” but how well are we applying these words today?



While we are responsible for our own choices, the results we are experiencing aren’t merely a matter of choice. We are not genetically programmed to turn down excess calories when they are in front of us. Studies have shown that if our plate contains more food than our body physically needs, we will eat it without conscious consideration.




But this isn’t just an American stereotype played out.

In Toronto, Canada more than 17.5 million kilograms of food is thrown out every month and in Britain, the government’s Waste & Resources Action Programme estimates that $17.5 billion worth of food is wasted every year.

The way our food production system is structured, supplying demand, not need, has an exponential significance on obesity and food waste at all stages – supply, distribution, preparation and consumption.


A representative of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents food manufactueres such as Kraft, Hershey and Coca-Cola said it best, “there is no bigger opportunity for our industry to simultaneously address hunger and our environmental footprint than by reducing the amount of food sent to landfills by diverting food to food banks and food waste to beneficial alternatives like compost.”

Opportunities pop up everyday that provide the chance to be responsible consumers. From going “halfsies” with your portions to starting up your own personal compost — the action needed to spur behavior change and reverse our global food waste epidemic is less challenging than you might think.

Our personal decisions matter. The earth cannot continue to withstand our excesses and neither can our waistlines. Practicing the “waste not” wisdom consistently over time will have a profound generational and global impact.