Global hunger, famine, and starvation are problems that people are aware of; however, they do not know how much food waste contributes to them.
In a global economy where millions of men, women, and children do not receive enough food to sustain their health, reducing food waste is more than a way to save money –it’s a way to save lives and help the environment, too. Limiting food waste is a responsibility that many people ignore, but it has severe consequences for individuals worldwide.
Fortunately, reducing the food wasted takes only a few simple changes.
Food Waste: How Much Food is Wasted?
The food wasted by households, businesses, and restaurants in the United States alone each year would be enough to fulfill the nutritional requirements of everyone in the world. An enormous amount of food is wasted annually, and much of this waste is easily prevented.
Reducing food waste will help lessen the demand on the global market for food, lower the strain on food supplies and make food more readily accessible and affordable to everyone. Hunger and poverty are closely related, and easing the pressure on the food market is an easy way to reduce child hunger, feed the world, and make positive environmental changes.
Learning how to reduce and mitigate food waste can be done by making a few easy lifestyle changes.
Reduce Food Waste: Grow Vegetables at Home
Growing food at home is an easy way to reduce pressure on the local and national economy by lowering the demand for certain types of food. Homegrown tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and many other vegetables and herbs are simple for even inexperienced gardeners to grow successfully.
Additionally, growing vegetables and food at home reduces the necessity of transporting food from a farm to a store to a house, reducing the pressure on agriculture systems and lowering greenhouse gas production.
Finally, growing vegetables at home give families more control over the growing conditions of the food they will be eating.
Food Waste: Help End World Hunger by Cooking at Home
Preparing meals at home is a simple and healthy way to reduce food waste. Restaurants waste a great deal of food preparing meals; avoiding this waste is easy. Additionally, home-cooked meals allow individuals to have greater control over the portion sizes of the meals. Use homegrown ingredients in meals to make them taste even better.
Save and eat leftovers to avoid wasting home-cooked meals. Prepare casseroles and other dishes using leftovers to ensure that nothing goes to waste; if food cannot be eaten, compost it instead of adding it to the trash. Learn how to can and preserve food to have homegrown vegetables and fruit available throughout the year.
Stop Food Waste: Go Vegetarian for a Day
Vegetarian eating is a great way to reduce food waste. According to Easy Green Living by Renee Loux, it takes thirty-five calories to produce one calorie in beef. Avoiding meat products for one day out of the week will lower the demand on the meat market and reduce the amount of energy put into producing beef, chicken, and pork.
You can cook vegetables, tofu, and other vegan and vegetarian food items in various ways, so taste never needs to be sacrificed when eating vegetarian food. Learning to cook a meal using only vegetables can be a fun family challenge.
Additionally, learning to use more portions of the animals used for meat is a great way to reduce the amount of wasted meat from eating beef. Specialty dishes can be prepared using cheek meat, tongues, and many other portions of the animal that can reduce the amount of wasted food and energy used to feed cows.
Corporate Food Waste: Help Reduce Hunger
Write to local grocery stores, restaurants and politicians and encourage everyone to get involved in reducing food waste. Ask grocery stores to donate food to homeless shelters instead of throwing it away; many grocery stores simply put food into the garbage well before it is too old to sell, which contributes to global food waste.
Getting the community involved in reducing food waste is a great way to spread awareness of global hunger issues and make positive changes. Changing individual habits gradually is an excellent way to ensure that the changes will be successful. Even using these few tips will help contribute and be impactful in helping to reduce food waste.
Do you have any suggestions on reducing food waste in your home? Please share with us in the comments below.
