Some forms of waste cannot be avoided. On the other hand, there are other types of waste that are completely preventable. Food waste is at the top of the list. Wasting food occurs far too often in many places around the world. It is especially egregious because it doesn’t have to happen. Humans waste food because we choose to do so.
We can compare food waste to other types of waste to better understand just how foolish it is. Take something as simple as a battery. Billions of disposable alkaline batteries are produced every year. Tens of millions of them end up in landfills. But there is no need for it.
Pale Blue Earth is Utah company that makes a USB rechargeable battery that can be recharged 1000+ times. Every battery they sell can eliminate 999 alkaline batteries from the waste stream. Reducing battery waste is so simple and easy. Ditto for food waste.
1. Tons of Waste Annually
The EPA estimates that U.S. homes and businesses produced some sixty-three million tons of food waste in 2018. This was food that was disposed of through landfills, composting, incineration, etc. It was food that had been produced for the purposes of providing nutrition, yet still disposed of because it was never consumed.
Regardless of your feelings about sustainability and environmental responsibility, you cannot deny that sixty-three million tons is an absurd amount of waste. It is so much food that it is almost impossible to imagine. Meanwhile, there are people in other countries waiting in lines for hours or being forced to eat from city dumps.
2. Three Main Sectors of Food Waste
EPA data breaks down food waste by sector. There are three sectors they consider: residential, commercial, and institutional. All three contribute to the food waste stream in similar ways.
1. Residential Food Waste
The residential sector is the one we are almost familiar with. Very few of us can honestly say that we do not contribute to the problem. We waste food in any number of ways, the first of which is buying food products and not giving them a second look. Something goes into the refrigerator only to be forgotten until six months after it has expired. Then into the trash it goes.
We also waste food by cooking more than we need and throwing away the leftovers. We fill our plates with more than we can eat in a single setting, then dump what we don’t eat into the trash. We think nothing of it because food is so plentiful here.
2. Commercial Food Waste
The commercial sector is defined by the FDA as those businesses involved in hospitality and retail/wholesale food. That means restaurants, hotels, sports venues, grocery stores, wholesale clubs, etc. Where prepackaged food is concerned, the commercial sector throws items away as soon as they reach their expiration dates.
Where plated food is concerned, the commercial sector faces the same problems as the residential sector. More food is prepared than required, leading to throwing away what doesn’t get consumed.
3. Institutional Food Waste
Take all of the characteristics of both residential and commercial food waste and apply them to hospitals, nursing homes, universities, etc. and you can begin to understand the scale of institutional food waste. Any institution that serves food in any form also wastes it.
There is no denying that the U.S. wastes far too much food. Though battery waste isn’t excusable, it is at least understandable in the sense that batteries are not essential to maintaining life. Food is. Throwing away more than sixty-three million tons of it is a travesty.
