Brighter Green
Waste Not, Want Not
Photo from Left Over Food exhibition
November 9, 2015
Natalie Petrulla has a new blog on food waste worldwide and its role in World Food Day. Here’s a snippet from the blog (which can be read in its entirety here):
Food waste throughout the U.S. and the world has been a major problem over the years. Recently, it has received more attention globally and now in the U.S., with a call for serious action by the Obama administration which recently brought food waste “to the table” as a part of its efforts to combat climate change. The goal the Obama White House set was to reduce food waste in the United States by 50% in the next 15 years, but what does this reduction mean? How much are we really wasting?
According to the UNEP, 30-40% of the food supply in the United States is wasted; per person, this equals more than 20 pounds per month. Americans are not the only ones wasting food. Approximately “one-third of all food produced worldwide… gets lost or wasted in food production and consumption systems.” While all of this food is being wasted, there are millions of people throughout the world who are still undernourished or hungry. In response, many initiatives have been created to address this issue, including the creation of World Food Day, to raise awareness about food waste and promote ethical practices. World Food Day was held this year on Friday, October 16.