Food Waste Essay

1361 Words6 Pages
There is no clear description regarding food waste in a universal matter either historically or presently, making it perplexing in definition and comparison. What is clear is that food waste continues to grow at a rapid pace with the expansion of a world population experiencing societal and agricultural developments in an era where land and other resources are becoming more limited. The increase in waste and category of foods which people throw away has transformed with time through the advancement and evolving of varying cultures. The French labeled “Garbage” specifically as food waste and later broadened the term in applying to refuse in general. The first hunter-gatherer societies picked and killed what they needed to survive, wasting…show more content…
However, the issue will require attention soon enough when addressing the 70% food production increase mandatory in feeding the estimated world population of 9.3 billion by 2050 (United Nations, 2011).
The USDA claims that each year, 25.9 million tons of America’s food is thrown away, the equivalent to a quarter of the total amount produced. Nationally, the wasted food is a damaging financial setback, amounting to $1 billion just to get rid of during a time of ascending food prices, nonetheless (Oliver, 2007). Food waste has skyrocketed since 1970 at an astonishing 50% increase rate, yet according to the FAO, one-sixth of America doesn’t get enough to eat. The University of Arizona’s “Garbage Project” study approximates the number closer to 50% when calculating in the 27 million tons thrown away by supermarkets, restaurants, and convenient stores alone adding up to an additional $30 billion. Retailers refuse to report their waste in compliance with company policy and food is sent to compactors where it becomes unusable and ends up in landfills. Globally, the FAO has declared approximately one-third of the world’s entire food supply produced for consumer consumption (1.3 billion tons) is wasted annually (Buzby &amp; Hyman et al., 2012). Jean C. Buzby describes the entire lifecycle of food (including food waste) having “negative externalities that arise throughout the

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