Waste Food Essay

Living in one of the wealthiest nations worldwide, with privileges and services provided being second to none, has changed how Americans view one of life’s biggest necessities - food. Because of an abundance of food available for consumption, Americans take it for granted and waste food. The statistics for food wastage in America are shocking. As reported by Suzanne Goldenberg, an environment spokesperson, American consumers and retailers waste one-third of food produced in the country, which equals to 60 million tons and $160 billion annually. Americans waste food because of the appearance of the food and confusing expiration date, which lead to environmental damages; However, there are potential solutions to counter this issue.

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Casey Williams, an editor at Huffington Post, points out that “20 percent of food waste in people’s homes is caused by the confusing date labeling system.” Because of date labels like ‘sell by,’ best by’ etc., many Americans misinterpret the meaning of the labels. While the aforementioned date labels may seem similar, they are actually quite different. For example, ‘sell by’ simply means that a product must be removed off the shelves of a grocery chain after the given date; ‘use by,’ however, refers to “when food is freshest” (Williams). Many consumers also assume that the given date, no matter the type of label, simply refers to the actual date that the product is safe to use till. Going even a day over the given date is thought to be dangerous. However, these dates are often incorrect and estimated much sooner than the actual time a product might spoil. Even if the food does exceed its given expiration date, it does not signify that it is unsafe for consumption. Emily Broad Leib, a professor of Harvard Food law, argues, “the vast majority of food is safe to eat even after it passes the date on the label” (qtd in Williams). Throwing food away, that need not be wasted then forces consumers to buy more products which lead to more profit for the

One solution is a government “centralized composting” which reduces “the environmental effects of food waste by diverting food away from landfills” (“Solving the problem of food waste”). Not only can composting reduce the amount of greenhouse gases, like methane in the air, but also enrich the soil with nutrients. While some may encourage citizens to compost on their own, the problem is that many citizens are either lazy or simply do not want to spend their time doing something when throwing away food is a better alternative. However, if the government were to implement a program for composting, many citizens will make use of the service because of the convenience and benefits. Another solution includes government regulations that make it mandatory for corporations to use one label, such as ‘best by,’ that don't confuse the public. While this will certainly help in reducing food waste, preventing the need to throw the “expired” food away all together will also require the government to require manufacturers to make the date more accurate to the actual date of the food spoiling rather than days before. By giving consumers an accurate time frame to finish the product, a lot of food can be prevented from being dumped in landfills, and subsequent environmental damages can be