With Thanksgiving coming to a close and Hanukkah and Christmas drawing near, food is being picked and prepared to share with people on these special nights. Families are all coming over to one house to celebrate the holidays, resulting in a lot of mouths to feed.
The problem is that many people overestimate the food that one person consumes, and buy way too much for everyone. According to the United Nations and the Washington Post, there is enough food on the planet to feed seven billion people. But wasting little bits here and there adds up, and as a result much of the world’s population goes hungry every day.
Living in Lusaka, Zambia opened my eyes up to the world around me. When my family went shopping for food we would get what we needed and nothing more. Since the grocery stores didn’t have a very large selection of food, it was easy to not get food we wouldn’t eat. Here in the U.S., grocery stores are massive compared to the stores in Lusaka.
One problem is the tendency to save food but then throw it away later when it goes bad in the back of the refrigerator. According to an article about food reduction by the BBC, 33 percent of all food is being wasted. Little things like organization would be key in situations like this: families could reserve a shelf for leftovers so they don’t sit in the back until they’re ready to be thrown out.
The food wastage occurring in schools is outrageous. According to Virginia Tech, 44 percent of food served is being wasted in elementary schools. Kids are growing up thinking that it’s okay to throw away their food. This is the next generation that the world is going to be left with, and it’s unacceptable to not teach them to be aware of others and their environment.
Restaurants contribute to almost half of the food wasted each year. According to an article about what can be done about food wastage in National Geographic, restaurants over-order, throw out existing food to create for room for new food and serve overly large portions. Restaurants are wasting food for no good reason, and if they took simple measures, using food about to be discarded from grocery stores, it would create a better system of food consumption.
As food prices rise due to climate change and lower crop production, it is safe to say more people will save their food wisely. Actions are already being taken to reuse or conserve food in communities and countries worldwide. So think to yourself during these holidays, do you really need this much food?