What did you learn about dietary choices from using the footprint calculator? Now imagine that you could translate what you learned into an effective societal policy on food- what would it be? And how would this policy effect the need to alleviate world hunger?
925 million people on earth do not have enough to eat according to the FAO [Food and Agricultural Organization]. That's almost 1 in 7 inhabitants of our planet!
Food & Hunger >
From Ranch to Rubbish
I recently came across this article and learned that between 20 and 40 percent of produce in developed countries is thrown away due to its lack of aesthetic appeal and nonconformity with society's ideals of how produce should look (i.e. without bumps, uniform size, etc.). This baffled me, as roughly fifty percent of the world's population is malnourished and so much food in developed countries is being thrown away with no valid reasoning. I believe that we, as consumers, should encourage our markets and food suppliers to sell all produce, with or without imperfections. This seems simple, but does anyone have any ideas of how we, as individuals, could push for produce suppliers to decrease wasted food?
This is a huge issue, and happily, there are some things you can do to help!
1: Whenever you are at a grocery store buying produce, try to pick the produce with small problems, like nicks or bruises. They generally don't have an effect on the taste, but can put off more picky consumers, leading to them being thrown away by the grocery store
2: Buy from farmers markets. The produce sold at these markets does not have to conform to industry standards. From personal experience, there is some _UGLY_ food at farmers markets, but it generally tastes as good if not better than its beautiful compatriots. Another advantage of shopping here is that farmers at markets are generally more eco-conscious, and throw away less food at their fields. [According to NPR](http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/201 … hink-again) "anywhere from 5 to 30 percent of a harvest is lost [due to unsightliness]" another huge problem.
3: Pick up a weekly produce box. Companies like [Rancho Piccolo](http://ranchopiccolo.com/) offer delicio usly curated weekly boxes of produce. It is all from one organic farm, and next to nothing is wasted. They have become my primary produce intake source, and the food is delicious, and nutritious, albeit a little expensive. Another advantage of this service is they send some strange stuff and really encourage you to try new things. I cannot say enough about their excellent service and food
So there you have it. I encourage you and anyone else who reads this to implement at least one, if not all of these techniques into your daily life.
I agree, and there is also a issue with wasting the food after we buy it off of the shelves. As reported by http://www.endfoodwastenow.org/, approximately 40% of food goes to waste in the US alone every year. We as a country make almost as much waste as sub-Saharan Africa produces in a year.