3 Effects of Food Waste on the Planet

In Europe about 88 million tonnes of food are wasted annually.

With some goodwill, we can reduce food waste and protect our planet.

Three effects of food waste on our planet are the waste of water, the waste of fossil fuels, and the release of methane gas into the atmosphere.

First of all, Water is used to grow the crops that are then transformed into the different products we eat. It is used to water the animals whose meat is eaten by us. It has many other uses, such as producing energy, growing trees, powering installations, plants, facilities. We live on water. Yet, we waste it. When you throw food in the trash don’t you ever think about all of the resources expended to produce that food? Water is one of them. It gets wasted along the food you throw in the bin because it has been used to no avail.

Water isn’t the only resource involved in the production of food. Fossil fuels are also utilized in this process. They power the machinery which plants, harvests, transports, sorts, cleans, and packages food. Though, differently from water, fossil fuels are not a renewable resource. Once wasted, they are gone. If we want to continue relying on fossil fuels for energy, we will have to use them well, which obviously means not wasting them.

Finally, Wasted food is gathered in landfills. That food then decomposes, or rots. Rotten food releases methane gas, which, unfortunately, is a greenhouse gas. This means that when we waste food we are harming our planet. Methane gas is 25 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, and accounts for 20% of greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions adversely affect earth’s climate.

If we want to preserve the environment we must not waste food.

This is a really important topic because the future of our planet depends on the decisions we make and the things we do nowadays. If we decide to preserve the environment and act in order to limit food waste, future generations will be able to live on a healthy planet. If we don’t do these things, whether there will be a future generation or not becomes a dilemma.

Hawthorne, John. “5 Ways Food Waste is Destroying Our Beautiful Planet”. New Food. newfoodmagazine.com. Aug 9, 2017. Web. Mar 14, 2019.

Food waste consequences

 FOOD WASTE BLOG

Did you know that only in the United States 38 million tonnes of food are wasted every year? Three problems that we face when we waste food are the production of greenhouse effect gases , the waste of natural resources , and unnecessary pollution.

First of all,  the production of greenhouse gases is a very important problem that we are facing nowadays.The problem of the greenhouse gases is caused in a big majority by the animals we breed.If we breed the animals that produce methane , which is one of the gases that are bad for the atmosphere, and then we throw them to the trash , we are creating food just for polluting and making problems.

Another problem that we face when we waste food is the waste of natural resources such as water , crops.If we use the lands to let the animals grow and then we transport them to the supermarkets using petroleum to move the trucks , and then we throw them away , we are wasting the resources that we used on that animal and we didn’t get any benefit out of it.

Finally, by wasting food we are also polluting , because we have to use vehicles to plant the crops for the animals and to transport them. By using petroleum we are wasting natural resources and we are polluting with no sense.

In conclusion , by wasting food we are contributing to climate change , polluting and creating greenhouse effect gases .To stop this we should measure ourselves and know how much food we are going to use .

Another thing we can do is to put in Tupperwares the leftovers and eat them other day , this is also a benefit for us because we will save money and we won’t have to cook every day.

Three ways to reduce food waste at your home

How much food do you think is wasted in the world in one year? Only in the EU around 
88 million tonnes of food waste are generated annually. It’s a huge quantity considering 
that all over the world there are people starving and the environment is greatly
damaged. If you think that food waste is not your problem, you’re wrong: food waste 
starts in your own home. I was part of the people who didn’t pay attention to what 
they wasted, but after I got informed, I changed my mind. There are many things 
you can do to reduce food waste and save the environment, for example you can
follow these three easy steps at your home: plan your shopping, check the dates, 
and freeze the food.

First of all, planning your meals for a week and checking the ingredients in your
fridge are good ways to save food. For example at home I usually eat what I like in
that moment without considering what food was in my fridge. Very often I threw away
vegetables and food I could use to prepare my meals. It wasn’t so easy to change my
habits but I had to and now I’m learning to plan my weekly  meals. When I go to
the supermarket, I know exactly what to buy and I try to avoid extra food that I don’t 
need. I also try to respect my schedule every day and I’ve noticed that the amount
of food waste is considerably reduced.

Next check the dates! If you are not planning to eat a certain type of food with
a short “use by” date, look for a longer “use by” date or just plan to buy it on the
day you require it. This is linked to the step of planning your meals. You have to
eat first the food with a shorter “use by” date in order to avoid wasting them. Food
products are still safe to consume even after the indicated “best before” day. So
don’t be scared by the date. It only suggest you when it is better to consume the food.
I learned that it’s possible to avoid to waste products by cooking cakes and other
recipes. On the Internet there are infinite recipes that show you how to save products.
Very often I prepare sweets and cake to finish milk, yogurt or fruits and in this way
I avoid buying pre packed food that I wouldn't finish. This also makes me save money.

 

The last advice I can give to you is to freeze your food. If you sometimes cook extra
food or you don’t want to respect your schedule meals and eat something completely
different, take care of freezing it. Freezing food is a good way to preserve the food
qualities, if you know that you aren’t going to eat that food in a short time. My mom
usually freezes tomato sauce, bread and boiled vegetables. It’s a very easy method to
have food ready to be eaten. Especially when I’m tired or when I'm alone at home I
take frozen food, I put it in the microwave and then eat it. It’s very quick and easy.

In conclusion there are thousands of ways to reduce food waste at home. Everyone

should play a role in this process and be active in saving the environment. As I said
it’s not easy to change your habits especially when you are used to a great supply
of food at your disposal. I had some difficulties at the beginning, because I thought
that my food waste wasn’t so big and that I didn’t have this problem. I’ve understood
that everyone must reconsider their attitude toward food. Day by day I’m learning
new tips and improving my behaviour. With a very small effort we can easily change
the condition of the environment.

Works Cited

European Commission, “Food Waste”. Ec.europa.eu. European Union. 2016. Web.
7 Mar 2019.

European Commission. “Stop Food Waste”. Ec.europa.eu. European Commission. n.d Web.
7 Mar 2019.  

HOW TO SAVE FOOD AT HOME

These days, in class, we have been studying different stuff about the amount of food we waste
in our homes. That made me interested because I found out that Europeans waste about 1.3
billion tonnes of food each year. Food waste is a very big issue because it affects people, and
apart from wasting food, we also waste resources like water, energy, or even land. What can
we do to make the waste of food disappear? If you want to start reducing food waste at your
home, you can follow these 3 easy steps: Store food correctly, Shop smart, and eat the skins of
some kinds of food.

First of all, When I say “Store food correctly”, I mean that you should know where to put, or how to cook every kind of food because improper storage leads to a massive amount
of food waste. Many people are unsure how to store fruits and vegetables, which can lead to
premature ripening and eventually, rotten produce. For example, you also should know that
potatoes, tomatoes, or even garlic, should never be refrigerated. If we don’t know how to store
food correctly, you won’t be able to eat some food so you will need to throw it away.

Next, Sometimes, people tend to buy more food than they actually need, and they end up
throwing it out. To solve this kind of problem, you can try making a list of the items you really will
need. This will help you reduce impulses at the time to buy food, and go to the shops with
your mind clear about what you want to buy at the store.

Finally, Some people do not like the skin of some foods, like, for example, skins

of fruits, veggies, or even chicken. Even if you don’t believe it, there are so many

nutrients in the outer layer. An example would be apple skins. Apple skins contain

a large number of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. If we take off the skin

of whatever kind of food, we are also taking away one of the essentials things

in a portion of food, so theoretically, we are not eating a part of the food and

we are wasting food.

In conclusion, we should learn how to do these 3 steps correctly, because if not, we

will waste more food at home every day.

Kubala, Jillian. “ 20 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Food Waste”. Healthline.com/nutrition.20 Nov
2017. Web. 13 Mar 2019.

  FOOD WASTE BLOG

How much food do you think the world wastes in one year?

88  million tons of food is wasted every year in the entire world!

This is an incredible amount of food; if you think of how much

food you waste every day, you will notice that is a lot! But there are

ways to reduce food waste in our home. By doing that we will start

to help the world be a better place!

Here are the 3 most efficient ways to reduce food in our homes: Plan

your shopping, Use up leftovers, and check expiration dates.

I believe that  a really efficient way to reduce food waste and even

to reduce your time in a supermarket is planning your shopping. With

a specific food plan you won’t waste much time deciding what to buy

in a supermarket, and it would really helpful with food waste because

you can buy everything you need and the exact amount. My family and
I do it really often, because we hate food waste.

Next, using up leftovers makes you waste less food because you

will eat it in the next days without throwing anything away. Some food

won’t be really good the next days like fruit and vegetables...

But, you  still can use fruit to make a smoothie or a fruit pie. On the other
hand, you can use vegetable to make different types of soups.

For example,sometimes, at my house

I eat some leftovers from the night before for lunch and that is very helpful...

Finally, Checking the expiration dates of food is really important not only

for food waste, but even for you, so it’s recommended to check

the date on any product you buy. if you are willing to buy a

product that you know you  aren’t going to eat for a

long time, always check the date that is written on top. personally,

I always check the dates because it’s really useful.

Food waste has a lot of bad effects on our planet, but

we can all help by doing something. That would help a lot, and

probably, in more than a couple of years we would live in a clean

world without food waste and without people who starve every day.

MLA format:

European Commission, “Food Waste”. E.C. European Union.

2016. Web.1 Mar 2019.

European Commission, “Stop Food Waste”. Ec.europa.eu.

European Commission. n.d Web. 1 Mar 2019

Three Ways of Reducing Food Waste at Home

In my English class, these days we have been doing research about food waste. We have been studying the effects it has on the planet, and how important it is that we all start realizing that by throwing away food, we are wasting water, energy and more resources. And also that by wasting food we are even contributing to problems like hunger in the world;

because that food we aren’t eating and throwing away, another person could be eating it. So after reflecting a little bit, I asked myself, how can I help to make this problem stop from going further? And then I realized that if I wanted to help, I had to start not to try to waste food from home. If you also want to start reducing food waste at your home, you can follow these three easy steps: shopping smarter, saving leftovers, and documenting your waste.

First of all, if you want to reduce food waste at home you need to start shopping smarter. This means that you should buy exactly what you need, and be realistic. Don’t do an impulsive buy, and don’t buy extra food if you know that probably you won’t be able to eat it.

To avoid doing an impulsive buy,  plan meals and use grocery lists, and this way you just
have to stick to what you have written in the list. And also, instead of doing a bulk shopping trip once a week, you can also go shopping every few days to get just the things you need. This would make you waste less food as you are just buying the things you need and not more.

Second of all, saving leftovers from breakfasts, lunches or dinners is a great way to avoid food waste at home. Learn how to store food so you can store any type of it, and save as much as you can. For example, I love when we eat pasta at home and we don’t finish it because it is too much, and then my mom puts it inside a Tupperware and I eat it later for dinner.

Make sure you have a plan to use them up and don’t forget about them before they go bad. A good tip to remember that you have leftovers to eat is to store them in clear glass containers and not in opaque one so you can see clearly the food once you open your fridge.

Saving leftovers save more than food; it also saves your time and money.

Last but not least, another way to reduce throwing away food at home is to document what you waste.

For the next month, make a list of everything you threw out. Then, analyze it so you can figure out what you could be doing better, like buying less of something, what foods you don’t eat anymore, if you should pay more attention to leftovers, if you should buy less...etc.

This step is really important to do it every month so you can waste less every time, and also realize if you are doing something wrong so you can make it better.

In conclusion, food waste is a really big problem we should take care of because it is about to start going too far. We are wasting a lot of food annually, for example in 2015 we disposed of 37.6 million tons of food waste. This really isn’t good; because we are losing resources, land, and energy because of this.

Many benefits come if we reduce wasted food. Because we would buy less food, we would have more money; we would conserve more energy and resources.

I think that even though it isn’t easy to stop a problem this difficult, if we all start at home, we could make a difference.

Works Cited.

Huffstetler, Erin. “13 Practical Ways to Avoid Food Waste”. Thebalanceeveryday.com. Dotdash publishing family. 8 Dec 2018. Web. 10 Mar 2019.

Kubala, Jillian. “20 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Food Waste”. Healthline.com. Healthline Media. 20 Nov 2017. Web. 10 Mar 2019.

Newcomer, Laura. “29 Smart and Easy Tips to Reduce Food Waste”. Greatist.com. Greatist. 26 Nov 2013. Web. 10 Mar 2019.

United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Reducing wasted food at home”. Epa.gov. United States Government. 19 Jan 2017. Web. 10 Mar 2019.

Food  Waste

When I was younger, I used to waste a lot of food, because I did not like it or it had a bad shape or color. But recently at my school we have studied that food waste is bad for our planet , in fact as we studied, our class wastes about 20% of its food per week. That’s a huge amount. Also, food wastes does waste not only food, but also energies and resources, such as water, electricity and fuel, and space.

First of all, wasting food wastes a lot of water. The animals that are raised to make your food need water to survive. They also need feed, which is made mostly from vegetables and fruits, which themselves need water to be grown. In fact, whenever we throw away a piece of meat, we also throw water away. Water is essential for our living, so wasting water is not the wisest thing to do.  

Other resources that are wasted through food-waste are electricity and non-renewable energies such as fuel. The animals that are used to make your food are raised in places that contain heating sources  to keep the animals warm, which need electricity to function correctly. Fuel is needed to transport  the food from one place to another and to cook it. However, the fuel used to transport the food is mostly non-renewable, which means that once we used it, it is gone. 

And last of all, food-waste consumes a huge amount of land. Why you may be thinking?Well, the reason for this is that raising animals and growing crops requires a lot of space. The land that we have nowadays is not big enough to grow the animals and raise the crops. As a result, people started to clear out some tropical forests in places such as Amazonia. Doing so hasbad consequences on our environment and ecosystems, since these trees provide oxygen to our planet and keeps us alive.

To conclude, wasting food is something we should stop doing due to all the bad effects it has on the environment, imagine all the things we could make with the energy we waste when we waste food. 

“Food Waste.”ec.europa.eu.European Union.Web.14 Mar 2019.

Blog On Food Waste

FOOD WASTE BLOG

Did you know that cow doodoo pollutes more than a car? You might think that cars

release harmful gases into the environment, but instead cows produce methane gas which harms the environment even more, so wasting meat by throwing it away has an effect on the environment that are:we breed more animals(especially cows), there is more pollution, and we waste natural resources that are used to produce meat that after are thrown in the trash.

First of all because we waste food we breed more animals. We breed cows most of all.

If we breed a lot of cows there is going to be more pollution because the cow’s poop contributes more to greenhouse house effects than cars, cars pollute a 25% of the

total amount of pollution, and 2 thirds of pollution comes from cows.

There is more pollution,and there is more pollution because animals need to be

transported so we waste oil, you have to heat the stable, so you waste energy.

There are a lot of landfills, because everything we throw ends up in landfills,

and those are very harmful to the environment.

Finally a lot of natural resources are wasted like water, food, oil, energy because

we waste a lot of resources, because resources are needed to take care of animals,

and we kill a lot of animals to feed people, but after they are just going to throw

it away, and like that it wastes all the food and water that was needed to feed the

animal.

If we eliminated food waste and food loss the world will  have less greenhouse
gases, lesspollution because less food will be thrown away into the sea, a positive effect of less food waste on the planet could be that there would be less pollution on the entire world

Works cited

-European commission."food waste."Ec.European.eu.European union.2016.web.1 mar. 2019.

-"Facts."foodwasteeffect.eu.Avac technologies.2016-2017.web.1 mar. 2019

- Dicke, Marcel.“Why not eat insects.”Ted.com.Ted conferences.Jul2010.Web.1 Mar.2019.

FOOD WASTE

Did you know that more than 222 million tonnes of food are wasted annually? This is equal to more than half of the world's annual cereals crop, but if each person collaborates helping we will make a better world. These are three ways that I recommend you to avoid food waste: Eat the skin, keep your serving sizes in check, and shop smart.

GIRL THROWING FOOD

You might think that eating the skin of fruits vegetables and meat is a stupid thing or its just disgusting, but did you know that throwing your fruit skins away is harmful for food waste? Apart from being harmful, skins have a lot of nutrients for your body. For example, apple skins contain a large amount of fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Chicken skin is packed with nutrients as well, including vitamin A, B vitamins, protein and healthy fats. In fact Not only is eating the skin delicious, it’s economical and reduces your food waste impact.       

        

Second keep your serving sizes in check. Putting too much food in your plate is a problem for everybody, also because you are not going to finish it, and after you are going to throw it away. This is a really big problem in food waste. For example my mom makes a lot of food at new year, and she spends a lot of time doing it. After the food that is not eaten it's thrown away, and along with wasting a lot of food that could be given to the needy people, it’s a waste of time and effort. How can you avoid this? Well by serving less food, and if you want more you put more.

And last, shop smart. A lot of people buy things that are going to be wasted because of their expiration date. To avoid buying more food than you need, make frequent trips to the grocery store every few days rather than doing a bulk shopping trip once a week.

Additionally, try making a list of items that you need to buy and stick to that list. This will help you reduce impulse buying and reduce food waste as well.

In conclusion,  food waste affects the environment, so also us, but we can stop this by using these simple three steps. Let's try to focus and make the world beautiful again Works Cited

European Commission.”Food Waste”, EC.European.eu, European Union.2016.Web.10 Mar 2019.