With 1 billion people in the world going hungry it is crazy to discover that 30 -50% of all food produced will never be eaten. Nevertheless, a new report “Global food, waste not, want not” by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers finds just this.
- In more developed countries like the US nearly half of the food bought is thrown away before it is ever used. Consumer and retail habits mean we over stock on food buying far more than we need, for instance bulk buying when there’s a special offer,.
- It’s also shocking to discover fruit and vegetables are often discarded before they ever reach the shelf due to wrong size or appearance.
- In developing countries where food poverty is highest, wastage is mainly due to poor techniques in harvesting, storage and transportation of food.
- In the future as the population increases, food poverty is also likely to rise.
- More needs to be done in the future to prevent food wastage. Aid and advice is needed to increase crop yield and better storage in developing countries. Policy changes are needed in developed countries to stop retailers unnecessarily throwing away perfectly good food. So next time you leave food on your plate spare a thought for those who are going hungry.
Want to learn more? Read the full story here: Throwing our food away: Up to 50% of the food produced worldwide is wasted
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