We are taught when we are kids not to waste food, but it doesn’t seem as if that lessen has stuck with us. According too an article on Planet Green “1/3 of Global Food Production Goes to Waste.”
That’s a crazy amount of food that doesn’t even make it to our tables. In the United States, more than 30% of the food that is grown for us to eat is gone to waste. This shows a complete lack of appreciation for food.
It shouldn’t come as a shock, but the richer nations in Europe and North America are the guiltiest compared to the less developed nations.
We have come to take food for granted. Sheesh a third of it gets wasted before we can even see it. That is how disconnected we have become as people to our food source.
What really made me aware of the amount of food that is being wasted was going “dumpster diving.” I did this a few times when I was living in NYC and was shocked at how much food was being tossed because it wasn’t’ perfect.
The article mentions that we can cut back on food waste, but I think it starts with the way that we think about food.
This is why I think we should all be getting our hands a little bit dirty and starting to grow some of our own food. We would gain a greater appreciation for what it takes to get food onto our tables.
What’s your thoughts on the amount of food waste in America?
Photo courtesy ofNick Saltmarsh via Flickr.
