Dillard 1

Jaden Dillard

Mrs. Watkins

Comp II

9 March 2017

Hungry for a Solution

As the years pass the landfills keep piling up. The problem with this is that a

majority of the waste going into the landfills is wasted food. Each year billions of pounds of food

is either wasted or lost and millions of people go to sleep hungry at night. Food waste has

become a problem in our world at both the production and personal levels. Without finding some

kind of solution to this crisis it could become detrimental as the worlds population continues to

rise.

The world suffers from billions of pounds of food loss at the production stages each year.

Every day grocery stores and restaurants throw out outrageous amounts of food that has nothing

wrong with it. According to an article in National Geographic, About 26 percent of fresh

tomatoes in the United States never make it into consumer hands. (Royte) This statistic is

alarming but isnt even a major impact on the amount of food lost. Losses at the farm are also

another problem. On occasion farmers will not even harvest the crop if there is not money to be

earned. If market prices are too low at the time of harvest, growers may leave

some crops in the field because they will not cover their costs after

accounting for the costs of labor and transport. (Gunders 7) Developing a program that

buys crops at a certain price no matter what the market price at that time is a possible help. A lot

of times stores do not have the room to stock a whole shipment of produce resulting in losses on

the distribution level. A larger problem that occurs at the distribution stage is
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that of rejected shipments. Rejected perishable shipments can be dumped if

another buyer cannot be found in time. (Gunders 9) Food banks will take

some of these rejected shipments but sometimes food banks get

overstocked too. If the food banks are overstocked then the excess food goes

to waste.

There are also large amounts of produce lost at the personal level. I

know in my household there is always a lot of leftover food after a meal and

it only occasionally gets eaten after the fact. In an article by NRDC it is put

into perspective just how much food is wasted by families in America.

American families throw out approximately 25 percent of the food and

beverages they buy. (Gunders 12) This is simply a personal problem that

can only be fixed by the individuals. Sometimes food will sit in the

refrigerator long enough it will spoil. To avoid spoilage individuals should buy

only what is needed and how much is needed at that specific time.

Expiration dates are confusing to consumers because it does not mark when

the food goes bad. It is more for the producers so they can keep the produce

moving through stores during their peak freshness. The quality of perishable

products may deteriorate after the date passes but the products should still be wholesome if not

exhibiting signs of spoilage. (Gunders 12) Expiration dates are not regulated by the

government when perhaps they need to be.

People have been trying to come up with solutions to the food crisis for

decades. With the amount of people facing starvation around the world it

seems this should be one of the top priorities. There are programs that have
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helped but have not been enough. Food banks have become a popular way

to save some of the food that grocery stores reject. Food banks take foods

that are rejected by grocery stores for one reason or another and redistribute

them. Without food banks edible food that gets rejected by grocery stores for

little bumps or blemishes would go to landfills. Doug Rauch came up with

another innovative way to cut down food waste. He developed a store, the

Daily Table, which takes excess foods from grocery stores and sells it at a

very affordable price. If more people would buy into Rauchs plan, it could

possibly make a big dent in the food crisis. A lot of food is also wasted in

school cafeterias. In response to this, Chesterbrook Elementary School in

McClean, VA has come up with a plan for students to help recycle their

leftovers. At Chesterbrook Elementary School in McClean, VA, every student

learns how to separate waste into categories like recyclables, food to be

donated, upcycling bins, and general trash. (USDA para 2) This seems like it

might not make a very big impact overall, however if other schools would

buy into this program it could be very beneficial.

Although food waste is a problem on the production and personal

levels, there are solutions to both. From the fields, to the stores, to the home,

the amount of food lost must be reduced in order to feed the growing

population. The only way to reduce the amount of food loss is to come up

with more innovative ideas like food banks and recycling programs. Its time

to come together and meet this problem face to face with a solution. Our

world has to become hungry for a solution.

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Works Cited

Gunders, Dana. "Wasted: How America is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from

Farm to Fork to Landfill." NRDC. NRDC, Aug. 2012. Web. 3 Mar. 2017.

Royte, Elizabeth. "One-Third of Food Is Lost or Wasted: What Can Be Done." Future of

Food. National Geographic, 13 Oct. 2014. Web. 3 Mar. 2017.

"Creative Solutions to Ending School Food Waste." USDA. United States Department of

Agriculture, 9 Sept. 2014. Web. 3 Mar. 2017.

"Preventing Food Waste and Protecting the Environment." The Global FoodBanking

Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2017.