In the United States alone we waste up to 40% of food every year. There are three reasons this is a problem. 1)There are people in the world who are starving. Food is a part of survival and we throw it away because we don't buy what we need, we buy what we THINK we need. Most of the time this is food that could go to somebody who really does need it. 2)The food that gets thrown away goes and sits in landfills where it decomposes and releases methane gas into the atmosphere. Methane gas traps almost 25% more heat than carbon dioxide does.  So an obvious result of that is more global warming. 3)People are not educated enough on food safety. The dates printed on food packaging, known as the expiration date, is more so a recommendation then it is when the food actually goes bad. Grocery stores throw away truck loads of food when they have "expired" even if they still look good. All because people won't buy them. For example fruit. Fruit, most of the time, is good unless it's moldy. If you or your parents went into a grocery store and picked up a package of strawberries and s aw that the expiration date had passed, even though the fruit was still good, would you still buy it? No, probably not. In all fairness I probably wouldn't either. Another example would be when you are cleaning out the refrigerator. You find a expired package of strawberries. The fruit still looks good. No sign of mold or rotting anywhere. Do you keep it and eat it, or do you throw it away so you don't risk anything? Hopefully you said keep it and eat it. I have learned over time that just because the expiration date had passed doesn't mean the food is always bad. Food like meats I would be much more careful with, but things like fruit, I would pay more attention to the fruit itself and not the date.
An easy way to help reduce waste is by planning out what you are going to eat that week and only buying what you NEED to make those meals. Yes, I am aware that can inconvenience busy families, but it will help slow down global warming. It could also help you save money. Think about it. If you buy food that you end up not eating before it goes bad, you are also throwing away the money you used to buy it with. There are many benefits to not wasting food.

Yes, I agree people need to be smarter with their food. Americans tend to overeat so if we got people to eat less then there would be less waste. If we also educate people on how their overeating affects the environment then fewer people will do it.