One of the biggest myths about the food system is that we don't produce enough to feed the world—and that food scarcity is the reason why nearly one billion across the planet are hungry. In fact, we produce enough calories to feed every man, woman and child—and that's on top of wasting roughly 1.3 billion tons of food each year world-wide.
Between Thanksgiving and the New Year, Americans will waste about five million tons of food—enough to fill 125,000 18-wheelers, which would stretch from Chicago to Seattle. In one year, Americans alone waste about 34 million tons. In the United States, consumers throw away about one and a half pounds per person daily, the Environmental Protection Agency says.
One-third of all food in industrialized countries gets thrown away, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. In developing countries, the problems of poor transportation, lack of storage facilities, mold, pests and bad roads result in 40% of crops being lost. Ample enough to feed the 868 million people who go to bed hungry each night. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, where more than 265 million people are hungry post-harvest losses for grains, tubers, fruits and vegetables, and meat and milk amount to roughly 100 million tons each year, the FAO reported.
There is also the contribution of food waste to climate change as it decomposes in landfills it releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas with 26 times the heat-trapping capacity of carbon dioxide.
There are ways to prevent waste. In Gambia and India solar-powered dehydrators are used to dry papayas and mangos, reducing fruit going to waste at the peak of the season and providing a great source of vitamin A throughout the year. In Bolivia, farmers are using driers to preserve a number of different crops, such as tomatoes and potatoes, throughout the year. In Africa, hermetically sealed bags—essentially really big Ziploc bags—protect crops from moisture, insects and fungus. In Pakistan, farmers reduced grain-storage losses by up to 70% just by replacing jute storage bags and mud silos with metal grain-storage containers that protect against moisture and prevent insects and rats from eating grain.
Between Thanksgiving and the New Year, Americans will waste about five million tons of food—enough to fill 125,000 18-wheelers, which would stretch from Chicago to Seattle. In one year, Americans alone waste about 34 million tons. In the United States, consumers throw away about one and a half pounds per person daily, the Environmental Protection Agency says.
One-third of all food in industrialized countries gets thrown away, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. In developing countries, the problems of poor transportation, lack of storage facilities, mold, pests and bad roads result in 40% of crops being lost. Ample enough to feed the 868 million people who go to bed hungry each night. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, where more than 265 million people are hungry post-harvest losses for grains, tubers, fruits and vegetables, and meat and milk amount to roughly 100 million tons each year, the FAO reported.
There is also the contribution of food waste to climate change as it decomposes in landfills it releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas with 26 times the heat-trapping capacity of carbon dioxide.
There are ways to prevent waste. In Gambia and India solar-powered dehydrators are used to dry papayas and mangos, reducing fruit going to waste at the peak of the season and providing a great source of vitamin A throughout the year. In Bolivia, farmers are using driers to preserve a number of different crops, such as tomatoes and potatoes, throughout the year. In Africa, hermetically sealed bags—essentially really big Ziploc bags—protect crops from moisture, insects and fungus. In Pakistan, farmers reduced grain-storage losses by up to 70% just by replacing jute storage bags and mud silos with metal grain-storage containers that protect against moisture and prevent insects and rats from eating grain.
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