Some 30-50% of food produced globally is never eaten. So reports a recent study by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, an independent UK-based engineering society with a focus on energy and environment.
In developed countries, like the U.S., food waste tends to occur in groceries stores, homes, and restaurants. Over-sized portions, cheap processed food, demand for perfect produce, and overly-cautious ‘sell by dates’ result in 40% of American food bypassing our forks and going right into the trash.
This works out to a staggering 20lbs of food waste per person each month— a figure that has doubled since the 1970s.
In developing nations, food loss occurs lower on the supply chain. The Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ report found that in areas desperate for calories, inefficient harvesting practices, inadequate transportation, and poor storage regularly result in less than half of produced crops making it to the market place.
Seventy percent of Earth’s freshwater resources and more than half its usable land are committed to agriculture. Food production requires fossil fuels for harvesting and transport, as well as fertilizers for growth. And rotting food in landfills emits methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
There is no way around it: the loss of more than a billion metric tons of food annually is bad news for our planet and its citizens.
Moving into the future, more efficient food production technology is needed in developing nations. And in places like the U.S., waistlines and wallets would benefit from eating meatless home-cooked meals a little more often.
Web Links
IME Report
http://www.imeche.org/Libraries/Reports/IMechE_Global_Food_Report.sflb.ashx
PLOS
http://blogs.plos.org/publichealth/2013/01/15/food-waste/
NRDC Report
http://www.nrdc.org/food/files/wasted-food-IP.pdf
Photo, taken on March 22, 2009, courtesy of Nick Saltmarsh via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY, with partial support from the Field Day Foundation.