essay on "wasting of food disadvantage" 150 words
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We’ve all been there. That dreaded weekly shop when you feel you need to restock on every item imaginable, so you fill the trolley with enough foodstuff and 2 for 1 deals to fulfill an à la carte menu ten times over. You then realise that buying two large loafs of bread was prehaps a little too excessive, and before you know it, it becomes too mouldy to consume and it’s in the bin.
The fact that we’ve all been there is why we have such a food waste problem. In the UK alone, we wasted £13 billion worth of food in 2015, which amounts to an eye-watering (and unpleasant smelling) 7.3 tonnes of food.
Wasting food is also hurting the environment. Roughly one quarter of man-made greenhouse gas emissions are created by food waste, and if food waste was a country, it would be ranked third after the USA and China in terms of greenhouse gas production. When thrown into landfill, food waste produces a large amount of methane. As food rots and degrades, it emits these harmful gases which are 25 times more harmful than carbon dioxide in terms of trapping heat in the atmosphere. If we look back at those 2015 figures, the environmental benefit of preventing this sort of waste would be like taking 1 in 4 cars off the road.
We also use a lot of water when producing food. Agriculture accounts for 70% of the water used throughout the world. If we throw away 1kg of beef, we’re wasting 50,000 litres of water used to produce the meat. There’s also a correlation between food waste and deforestation.
Ethically, food waste has a knock-on effect on society. While we’re throwing food out, many people around the world have limited access to food. The UN estimates that globally 1 in 9 people are undernourished. Meanwhile, a growing population means higher consumption and greater demand for processed food. If we are to meet these demands, food production needs to increase by more than half by 2050, according to the UN.
Wasting food is also hurting the environment. Roughly one quarter of man-made greenhouse gas emissions are created by food waste, and if food waste was a country, it would be ranked third after the USA and China in terms of greenhouse gas production. When thrown into landfill, food waste produces a large amount of methane. As food rots and degrades, it emits these harmful gases which are 25 times more harmful than carbon dioxide in terms of trapping heat in the atmosphere. If we look back at those 2015 figures, the environmental benefit of preventing this sort of waste would be like taking 1 in 4 cars off the road.
We also use a lot of water when producing food. Agriculture accounts for 70% of the water used throughout the world. If we throw away 1kg of beef, we’re wasting 50,000 litres of water used to produce the meat. There’s also a correlation between food waste and deforestation.
Ethically, food waste has a knock-on effect on society. While we’re throwing food out, many people around the world have limited access to food. The UN estimates that globally 1 in 9 people are undernourished. Meanwhile, a growing population means higher consumption and greater demand for processed food. If we are to meet these demands, food production needs to increase by more than half by 2050, according to the UN.