We Waste More Food Than Ever

Posted in Category(ies): Environment, Society

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We Waste More Food Thank Ever

Americans waste 40% of their food supply, states a new study reported in ScienceNow Daily.  A lot of this wastage occurs in restaurants and grocery stores, but a lot of food finds it's way to the trash can at home as well. What better time to talk about wasted food than after the gluttonous orgy Americans call Thanksgiving.

Waste happens at ever step of the food processing chain from farmer to factory to plate. What impact does this have on our world?

First of all, let me say that food isn't the only thing this society wastes. We have become a throw away society. We waste clothing, electronics, appliances, We also waste time, space and energy. We are a wasteful society.  I find all of the waste disgraceful (even as I contribute to it myself), but food waste is particularly difficult for me on a number of levels.

Food waste, to me, is representative of a pervasive attitude of disrespct and disregard in our society today.

We have disconnected ourselves from food production. We don't have to labor for the food we eat in the direct sense.. i.e. most of us aren't growing or harvesting our food. Most of us aren't even preparing our food. We simply buy cans and bags and frozen entrees and heat and serve. We serve too much, eat more than we should and discard the rest without a thought. There is more where that came from and it is easily accessible for most of us.

While it is true that the amount of food we waste could feed the worlds hungry, this isn't the focus of my thoughts. What really has me concerned is the incredible lack of awareness of the implications of this waste.

Without a healthy earth environment, we won't HAVE a food supply. By over producing food we are stressing the resources of our earth… soil, nutrients, energy to produce, package and ship. We are increasing the amount of pollution in the air, the amount of fossil fuels to burn. We are stressing all of our resources to get food into our house, 50% of which ends up in a landfill somewhere.

If you can't care about the earth, and the fact that we need it to be healthy in order to HAVE a food supply for the future, then perhaps you can care about others. Millions of people are starving in the very cities where others are wasting food indiscriminately. While it's true that not throwing out that moldy cranberry bread won't save an African child from hunger, it seems callous and disrespectful to take more than you can use over and over again while others have nothing.

What about the landfills? Garbage dumps are filled and over flowing. We are running out of places to put our garbage. As waste piles up we have a number of other issues to deal with such as rodents and pests, diseases and odors.

There must be a consequence to all of this waste. We are seeing it now, but we will be FEELING it in a few short years. Decades of waste will eventually lead to a point of no return. Why not take it upon yourself to do something about it now.

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Shelley Penney is a RN (retired) with a keen interest in health, peace and abundance.
Shelley has penned several e-books, currently runs several successful business ventures
from her home office, and has time to write, meditate, travel, and spend time with her
family. Visit Shelley at http://www.shelleypenney.com for interesting articles and
stimulating discussion.
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