Food waste

Food waste happens at every level of the supply chain. Because consumers are unlikely to purchase “ugly produce,” many producers don’t even bother to harvest crops that don’t meet cosmetic standards (but are still perfectly edible). When produce is sorted and processed, some is thrown out because of appearance, and again at the supermarket, where consumers only purchase the best-looking items.

Because of how plentiful food appears to us, we believe that we can afford to be picky or even throw it away. After all, we can always buy more tomorrow. We toss uneaten leftovers and cans past their best-by dates, and leave forgotten produce to rot in our fridges when we choose to eat out. Much of the unsold and expired food at supermarkets is discarded instead of being donated to hungry families and the homeless. Restaurants produce more food than they sell and throw the rest away. But when we’re doing this, we’re being careless and ignorant. The food you threw away could have gone to feed people in need. And in a country where, according to the National Resources Defense Council, one 1 in 8 people struggles to put food on the table, it’s hard to believe that so much food goes to the trash.

This can’t keep happening. Food is produced at a steep cost, and the impact of food waste has far-reaching effects on our environment and society. Valuable resources like water, labor and fuel that is used to produce, process, transport, store and dispose wasted food is better off used for more productive uses. According to National Public Radio, food is “the single largest source of waste in the U.S.” In landfills, food rots and produces methane, a strong greenhouse gas that contributes greatly to global warming. As consumers, it’s our responsibility to make a less wasteful and more efficient food system a reality.

With the ongoing coronavirus situation, it’s the perfect time to adopt habits to reduce food waste. Instead of going out to eat with your friends or ordering takeout, a more efficient and sanitary option is to cook at home. It’s also a very effective coping mechanism if you are staying at home — speaking from my own recent experience. You would be surprised at the variety of recipes you can make with ingredients already in your pantry and fridge. When shopping for groceries, make sure to buy only what you need and what you will use. It might seem like it’s important to stockpile food right now, but buying food in bulk is only worth the money if you’re actually going to use it up. Other things, like purchasing “ugly produce” subscription boxes, planning out meals, freezing food so it keeps longer and storing fresh fruit and vegetables properly help too. Slowly but surely, we can reduce food waste by changing our attitude toward food and adopting new ways of buying and using it.

Shavonne Lin is a senior at San Mateo High School. Student News appears in the weekend edition. You can email Student News at news@smdailyjournal.com.