Two contemporary issues of the global food system that are contributing to its growing instability are food waste and water use, with “an estimated 1.3 billion tons of food worldwide lost or wasted each year” (Hannibal, 2018, p.63), [and] “more than a billion people around the world lack access to safe drinking water” (Cooper, 2003, p.1). Why waste food and water when some of us have so little of it or none at all? “Nearly 70% of the world is covered by water, [but] only 2.5 percent of it is fresh” (“Competing for Clean,” 2017), for consumption. “Out of the worlds current population of 6.8 billion [people], 5 billion are living at levels of poverty that deprive them of their basic needs, and more than 1 billion are going hungry” (Powledge, 2010). Though these problems continuously get dismissed or overlooked by society, they are issues that should not be taken lightly, and can still be rectified.
As the earth continues to become overpopulated, the food source becomes more and more scarce, especially in areas that are low income and currently undernourished. Due to certain conditions, a portion of the population is forced to live in, the amount of food waste that continues to occur on a daily basis does not add up. “Food waste also costs a great deal of money. According to the NRDC, American consumers waste about $28 to $43 every month by throwing away food. It also costs about $750 million each year to dispose of this food waste” (Zukauskas, 2015). Foodservice industries, schools, and even hospitals are constantly throwing out untouched foods as opposed to donating leftovers to shelters, or low-income neighborhoods. Leftover foods can not only be used for consumption, but for fertilizer compost as well. “Vegetable and food waste are widely available organic wastes in the rural site, which could be used as compost amendments, in order to introduce more microbial diversity, dilute manure sodium content, and dispose all the organic waste at the same time” (Lui, Y., Wang, W., Xu, J., Xue, H., Stanford, K., McAllister, T. A., & Xu, W. (2018). Finding resourceful ways to utilize leftover foods is a more efficient way to reduce food waste and increase productivity.
Schools have a large impact on food waste that goes on worldwide due to the abundance of food that is pre-prepped for students in advance for the day.
The average U.S college student generates 142 pounds of food waste a year, according to Recycling Works, a Massachusetts recycling assistance program. The Food Recovery Network has found that college campuses throw out a combined total of 22 million pounds of uneaten food each year, most of which goes to landfills (Poon, 2015).
Foods that are not discarded of properly after waste, and are not used for compost pose a giant threat to the environment. “Food breaks down and releases methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. In addition, many valuable resources—including land, freshwater, and oil—are wasted in the production of food that is never consumed” (Zukauskas, 2015). Instead of wasting so much food year round, why not come up with a better system to implement in school cafeterias and diners? Foods should be produced and cooked as needed, instead of in bulk, to then later be tossed away. If foods are discarded, they should be reused as compost for gardens around the schools to save money on fertilizers by using a more natural fertilizer, as well as, improve plant growth with better nourishment. This will alleviate the contribution to global warming that improper disposal of food waste produces.
Water use is essential for everyday life, and yet so many people lack the resources to obtain a healthy amount in their system. “Although water is the most abundant liquid on the planet and can be found almost everywhere, 97 percent of it is too salty for human use. Of the remainder, about 68.7 percent is frozen in icecaps and glaciers” (Hordon, 2013). Even with those high percentages, people still carelessly let water go to waste every day. Half-empty water bottles are constantly being tossed out, some even get thrown away after one sip. Water is left running while people brush their teeth, or wait to get in the shower, and while preparing meals in their kitchen. “In the United States, more than one-fourth of the total water used in 2010 was withdrawn in California, Texas, Idaho, Florida, and Illinois. California alone was responsible for 11 percent of all the nation’s withdrawals that year” (Hordon, 2013). The lack of appreciation for water being at some peoples constant disposal is evident. The more overpopulated we become, however, the less and less water we will have to distribute to even those privileged enough to have it.
In order to rectify this issue, or at least minimize the waste/poor use of the water we can start the change from the comfort of our own home. Something as small as turning the sink off when it is not in use, hopping right into the shower when the water is turned on instead of running it for 5-10 minutes before getting in and using filters on our sinks or refrigerators to drink water instead of wasting water bottles is a good start. Though water can be found most anywhere, most of it is undrinkable, and though there are methods to filter the salt out of seawater, the consequences and price may be worse than not filtering it at all.
There are two basic methods for breaking the bonds in saltwater: thermal distillation and membrane separation. Thermal distillation involves heat: Boiling water turns it into vapor—leaving the salt behind—that is collected and condensed back into the water by cooling it down. The most common type of membrane separation is called reverse osmosis. Seawater is forced through a semipermeable membrane that separates salt from water (“Why don’t we”).
The issue with either one of these methods, other than price, would be the disturbance that would be caused to sea life.
Sea life can get sucked into desalination plants, killing small ocean creatures like baby fish and plankton, upsetting the food chain. Also, there’s the problem of what to do with the separated salt, which is left over as a very concentrated brine. Pumping this super salty water back into the ocean can harm local aquatic life. Reducing these impacts is possible, but it adds to the costs. (“Why don’t we”)
Being aware and more conscious of the amount of water wasted on a daily basis is very important, and the key to keeping our water supply up as opposed to letting it dry out.
The consumption of food and water is key to essential life, and yet still overlooked and abused as if both food and water will always be readily available. It is important for people to become more aware, as well as, educate those around them about becoming a more eco-friendly approach in their lifestyle and taking care of their environment. The awareness of food and water waste has to be put into perspective for people to understand that not only are undernourished people affected by this issue. The obese population, which is on the rise this year, is a giant contribution to waste as well, believe it or not. “The waste of resources… due to obesogenic consumption of foods, have been ignored so far in practical assessments of ecological impacts. Our position is that food eaten above physiological needs, manifesting as obesity, should be considered waste” (Serafini, 2016). Basically, the excess foods being consumed are considered “waste” due to the fact that people can survive without it and do not need to intake so much food. It would be more beneficial to share food and water throughout the world in order to decrease obesity, and malnourishment conditions. More advertisements should be created in order to educate people on these issues. It should be a topic that is discussed worldwide to help bring the earth back to a regular, more stable environment to live in. It would also quickly decrease obesity levels, diabetes, and other overweight related issues, as well as, cut down the amount of starving people in the world.
References
- Competing for Clean Water Has Led to a Crisis. (2017, January 27). Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/freshwater-crisis/
- Cooper, M. 2003. Water shortage: Is there enough water for everyone? CQ Researcher. 8/01/2003, Vol. 13 Issue 27, p649-672. 24p.
- Hannibal, B., Vedlitz, A. (2018). Throwing it out: Introducing a nexus perspective in examining citizen perceptions of organizational food waste in the U.S. Environmental Science & Policy. OCT 2018, 88 p63-p71, 9p.
- Hordon, R. M, Kahler, K. N. (2013). Water Use. Salem Encyclopedia.
- Lui, Y., Wang, W., Xu, J., Xue, H., Stanford, K., McAllister, T. A., & Xu, W. (2018). Evaluation of compost, vegetable and food waste as amendments to improve the composting of NaOH/NaClO-contaminated poultry manure. Vol. 13 Issue 10, p1-19. 19p.
- Poon, L. (2015, February 27). When Food Is Too Good To Waste, College Kids Pick Up The Scraps. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/02/27/389284061/when-food-is-too-good-to-waste-college-kids-pick-up-the-scraps
- Powledge, & Fred. (2010, April 01). Food, Hunger, and Insecurity. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/60/4/260/225956
- Serafini, M., Toti, E. (2016). The unsustainability of obesity: Metabolic food waste. Frontiers in Nutrition, Vol 3. p2.
- Why don’t we get our drinking water from the ocean by taking the salt out of seawater? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-dont-we-get-our-drinking-water-from-the-ocean/
- Zukauskas, R. S. (2015). Food Waste. Salem Press Encyclopedia. 2p.