Food Wastage Essay

Food wastage is a problem faced by every developing and developed country around the world. According to a book by Tristram Stuart,Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal(Penguin, 2009), approximately 40 million tonnes of food are wasted by US households, retailers and food services each year. This is sufficient to feed the nearly one billion malnourished people in the world. Yet in spite of this trend, peope continue to waste food at an alarming rate. Currently, a third of food produced around the world for human consumption is lost or wasted. This is equivalent to about 1. 3 billion tons of edible food every year, and less than a quarter of it is enough to satisfy the hunger of every hungry person in the world. In Hong Kong, 32 tonnes of solid food waste is produced each day, where the mast majority is dumped on the landfills which are running out of space. In tropical climates like Hong Kong, the decomposition of these food emit harmful greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide which capture and retain heat in the atmosphere. This accelerates and exacerbates the severity of global warming. If we stop wasting food that could have been consumed, it would be equivalent to reducing the carbon footprint of one in every four cars on the road. It is also worth noting that, by reducing the amount of food waste that is being sent to the landfill, we can extend the lifespan of the landfills in addition to reducing the burden on Hong Kong’s environment. That being said, it is time we take action to curb the trend of food wastage. In my opinion, there are three strategies to counter this pertinent issue at hand: campaigns by non-government organizations, distribution of free pamphlets in supermarkets, and government policy control on food portions in restaurants. In order the ameliorate the problem of food wastage, it is important to start from the root of the issue-providing education and enhancing social awareness through campaigns. In my opinion, most people are unaware of the severe repercussions that food wastage brings to the environment. By educating the people and raising the awareness, it is fair to say that the problem will at least be mitigated. Campaigns would be a good way to start, and Hong Kong should follow the model in the UK. Love Food, Hate Waste is a non-profit organization in the UK which aims to raise awareness of the need to reduce food waste as well as encourage people to take action. It teaches people easy, practical ways to do at home that helps people waste less food and at the same time, save money and help the environment. For example, it has a user-friendly website which teaches people everything from how to store foods longer to how to make use of leftover foods from dinner for their next meal. It even has a portion tool that helps to estimate approximately how much food a person needs for the meal, based on the type of food it is and the number of people consumingit, so that there is a lower chance of food wastage. For example, if an adult would like to have beef for dinner, it would be approximately 100grams whereas for a child, it would be about 70grams. Love Food, Hate Waste is a successful model that Hong Kong should aim to emulate, because it has user-friendly, practical ways that people can follow so that food waste can be effectively reduced. Another way to alleviate food wastage is to provide free brochures in every supermarket in Hong Kong, so that it raises the awareness of the people. This will help them make informed choices on the quantity of food to buy, as well as how to store them such that they take a longer time to expire. For example, wrapping vegetables in newspaper helps prolong its shelf life. Also, sealing off leftover food in a jar and placing them into the freezer helps exend its expiry date by a few days, if not weeks. Another example is separating apples from other fruits. This is because they give off ethylene gas, which will make other fruit become overripe . That being said, this method of discouraging food waste may be expensive. Printing millions of brochures is economically and environmentally costly. A large amount of money has to put aside for the production of the brochures, while heaps of paper would have to be used to print them. It may be a possible means to raise awareness on food wastage; however it is not the best option available. Last but not least, the government can implement a policy that regulates food portions in restaurants. People waste considerable amounts of food when they eat out, and one of the possible reasons is that they cannot finish their food. Therefore, one proposal is that the government can first impose a policy that controls the portion of meals served by restaurants, in order to wither down on the unnecessary food wasted. Restaurants can provide three serving portions for the customer to choose from-small, regular and large. This provides the suitable quantity of food for the customers such that it balances food wastage and customer satisfaction. Customers who are unable to finish their food will have to pay a penalty or fine. However, this proposal may be sit well with the people in Hong Kong. Some restaurants lure customers with their large food portions for a comparatively cheaper price, and hence if the government were to regulate the food portion of each restaurant, it would certainly face opposition from the owners of these restaurants. Not to mention, it is very difficult to measure the exact quantity of food of each restaurant to determine which category they fall into. While this may be a possible option in future, it is certainly too difficult to measure and monitor this over a long period of time. Large amounts of resources would have to be put in for a policy which may not be popular or effective at all. All in all, food wastage is an urgent problem that needs our immediate attention. Swift action would have to be taken if we were to mitigate this issue before it goes out of hand. We as the citizens of the world should be aware and take responsibility and reduce the environmental impact of solid food waste. The first step to achieving this goal is to advocate campaigns and follow the successful model of Love Food, Hate Waste in the UK. Only then will we start to have a clearer conscience and a better environment to live in.