By: MG
Food for Second Thought has now spent the good part of the semester convincing our readers why food waste is bad and how our readers can reduce waste at home. Now that our readers understand the basics of food waste, an important question to consider is what are specific ways the world will benefit from decreasing food waste. How will our readers benefit from listening to us?
Imagine we live in a perfect world where everyone has implemented changes into their lives to reduce their food print. What would be the benefits of this? What can we look forward to when the world starts being more conscious about food waste? Many things. The main way our world would benefit is our climate. If we didn’t have as much food producing methane gas in landfills we could slow the rate of climate change. One of many reasons we have so much food wasting away in landfills is because of an overproduction of food. The overproduction in the food industry hurts our climate in many ways. Deforestation is a major consequence of the food industry pushing a demand that is not needed. If we showed the food industry that we don’t need as much food as they’re producing, big corporations that contribute will financially learn a hard but necessary lesson. Long story short, the more we advocate for decreasing food waste, the better our climate can be. The effects of climate change are approaching quickly. Reduce your food waste so that your grandchildren have a healthy earth to live on. To ensure a good future we can look at how other countries have decreased their food waste with the help of their government.
Britain’s food laws:
A great example of food laws being implemented to reduce food waste and save the environment is Britain. Business Insider says, “Over the past decade, Britain has demonstrated far more statistical success, says Craig Hanson, global director of food, forests, and water at the World Resources Institute.” Earlier this year the United Kingdom released a press release informing the public of 1.15 million euros being dedicated to fight food waste.
The reason that the UK is a leader in food waste and the United States is not, is the legislative implementation. Britain cut food waste by 11% in only 3 years while the United States has stayed a constant for the past 20 years. According to charity NRDC, the British have accomplished this feat by improving labeling, pushing public campaigns (similar to Food for Second Thought), and advocating for at home composting. Food for Second Thought believes that if our government pushed an environmentalist agenda the way countries like Britain has, we could strive for a healthier world.
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. “Over £1m to Fund Food Waste Fight.” GOV.UK, GOV.UK, 30 Jan. 2020, www.gov.uk/government/news/over-1m-to-fund-food-waste-fight.
Hinckley, Story. “France Was the First Country to Ban Supermarkets from Throwing Away Unused Food – and the World Is Taking Notice.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 6 Jan. 2018, www.businessinsider.com/how-france-became-a-global-leader-in-curbing-food-waste-2018-1#:~:text=The%20people%20of%20France%20wasted,year%20in%20the%20United%20States.
July 30, 2020 Yvette Cabrera. “The UK Is Winning on Food Waste. Are We?” NRDC, 31 July 2020, www.nrdc.org/experts/yvette-cabrera/uk-winning-food-waste-are-we-0.
Edited by: CP
