Reflecting on Food Waste

 “Food loss represents the amount of
food post-harvest, that is available
for human consumption but is not
consumed for any reason. It includes
cooking loss and natural shrinkage
(for example, moisture loss); loss
from mould, pests, or inadequate climate
control; and food waste.
Food waste is a component of food
loss and occurs when an edible item
goes unconsumed, as in food discarded
by retailers due to color or
appearance, and plate waste by consumers”
(Buzby, Farah-Wells, and
Hyman, 2014 ).

Hi, I'm Erin. 

Stopping Food Waste

When it comes to food insecurity in the United States, there is no lack of food, just major problems with distribution. There are tons of food going to waste that hungry people need. It goes to landfills and all that energy, in the form of sunlight, nutritional potential, water, meat, labor, land, time and money, is wasted. 

Before going back to school to study food science, I used to be a personal chef. I have made a lot of food for clients that ended up as leftovers and that extra food (or ingredients), oftentimes, was wasted. I will honestly say that the only New Years resolution I have come close to keeping was 2018’s hope to waste less food. It helped that I quit my side hustle as a personal chef but I find myself having to stay vigilant.

While it's easy to laugh it off when throwing away that bag watery spring mix that died in your produce drawer, it's actually a really serious issue. That food now is contributing not only organic material to the landfill, but also the packaging it came in (probably plastic) and it would have been so appreciated by someone living without access to fresh vegetables. This is not a guilt trip about cleaning your plate. It's about using your money and time wisely and respecting the food you choose to put into your body. This is about respecting your community by not contributing more than your fair share to landfills.

Food waste is everyones problem. Do your part, buy only what you need and use it. There are countless others who would call themselves lucky to have the opportunity to use that perfectly good food. Programs like the LA Food Bank work tirelessly to provide to hungry members in our community and they work daily to keep good food out of landfills.

Fast Facts: 

• According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, one-quarter to one-third of all the food produced worldwide is wasted (Bellemare et al., 2017).

•  815,000 tons or 28% of LA’s total waste is food (Warshawsky, 2019).

On Food Waste:

Many different factors come into play with regards to food waste. In this country, only a small portion of our household budget is used for food: approximately 10% as compared to the 85% used in countries found in the developing world (Bellemare et al., 2017). In the United States, there are many areas in the food system where food can be removed and diverted into landfills. Restaurants serve large portions often at high prices and there are fluctuations in business volume. Retail shops employ systems such as use-by and sell-by dates that not only confuse the consumer, but often lead to perfectly sound found being discarded. Additionally, retails operations focus on only displaying perfect produce and visually appealing, brightly colored meat. In the home, consumers often waste food due to lack of interest or poor menu planning (Warshawsky, 2019). Perhaps, with such a small amount of the household food budget being used for food, it is not viewed as a valuable resource? 

While systematic change may not seem like a concern for the average American, there are many ways we can do our part to limit food waste. Developing both cooking skills and the ability to plan menus are a great first step. Getting involved with organizations such as local food banks or companies such as Imperfect Produce, a fun company that helped me to reduce food waste by delivering weekly boxes of food that would be rejected by the average retailer, are two ways to keep food out of the landfill. For those looking for the next step, getting involved with a community garden and learning how to compost will make the most of food scraps that otherwise would have a limited lifespan. 

Below are a few individuals in Los Angeles who care about feeding our neighbors and in turn, lend a hand in the fight against food waste. There are so many little ways to make a big impact. 

Volunteer!

Be like Michael.

For his birthday Michael brought a posse of friends to the LA Food Bank and spent a Saturday morning packing up boxes of food for senior citizens in need.

Do Your Part!

Caitlin has an important job working at a LA restaurant. She has a lot of responsibilities but they don't get in her way when it comes to getting the job done. This is what she has to say:

" I think food waste is a cultural problem. We've gotten away from using the whole animal, the whole plant, when we use things like chicken breasts.... When we move away from a more holistic,  cyclical way of living, we lose sight of ways we can divert food waste from landfills" 

- Caitlin K. 

References

Buzby, J. C., Farah-Wells, H., & Hyman, J. (2014). The estimated amount, value, and calories of postharvest food losses at the retail and consumer levels in the united states. St. Louis: Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis. Retrieved from http://mimas.calstatela.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1697536976?accountid=10352

Bellemare, M., Çakir, M., Peterson, H., Novak, L., & Rudi, J. (2017). On the Measurement of Food Waste. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 99(5), 1148-1158.

Warshawsky, D. (2019). The Challenge of Food Waste Governance in Cities: Case Study of Consumer Perspectives in Los Angeles. Sustainability, 11(3), 847.