Food waste or food loss is food that is not eaten. And when it comes to ‘best before’ dates, they are determined on the basis of optimal flavour and texture, rather than safety. Kyra Hanson. in DenmarkSource:Deutsche Welle. Food production takes a serious toll on the environment Source:World Economic Forum – not only in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, but also by consuming land, water and energy resources. Out of this amount, the cost for households is 98 billion. Kitchen culture and staff behavior such as over-preparation of food, improper ingredient storage and failure to use food scraps and trimmings can also contribute to food loss. This meant that the animals, which could no longer be processed, were slaughtered and discarded by the thousand.29, During food transportation and distribution, perishable foods are vulnerable to loss, especially in developing nations where access to adequate and reliable refrigeration, infrastructure and transportation can be a challenge. Every time you do your groceries or consider throwing away food that can still be used, you get an opportunity to make those future generations happy. If you are a consumer looking to lend a hand in the fight, make sure you follow the above tips. And it’s not because there isn’t enough food on the planet to feed everyone. At dinner, … Food loss is the bigger category, and incorporates any edible food that goes uneaten at any stage. When food goes uneaten, … Become a Jake Ambassador. Some of this is recovered and used for other purposes —  in the US, about 33 percent of food waste from manufacturing goes to animal feed.26 Even with this recovered and reused material taken out of the calculation, about two billion pounds of food are wasted in the food processing or manufacturing stage.27 A number of issues, like overproduction, product damage and technical problems at manufacturing facilities contribute to these large quantities of food waste.28 Much like farms, food processing facilities are vulnerable to labor disruptions and shortages. Food waste is a massive, multifaceted challenge. And it means that food waste costs every single household about 440 EUR per year. In addition to food that’s uneaten in homes and stores, this includes crops left in the field, food that spoils in transportation, and all other food that doesn’t make it to a store. In 2016, France became the first country in the worldSource:Reuters to prohibit supermarkets from throwing away food that can still be consumed. Food may not be harvested because of damage by weather, pests and disease. To help you visualise, that’s 95-115 kg of food per person every year. Calculating food waste by country. Some of this is recovered and used for other purposes —  in the US, about 33 percent of food waste from manufacturing goes to animal feed. Especially in developing countries, where the biggest chunk of food is wasted at the production stage, small improvements can make a big difference. This wasted food has taken loads of fresh water, land and labour to produce. In its “Food Loss and Waste” report, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) estimates between 30 to 40 percent of the food supply is wasted. Wasting food is bad for the environment - including the climate. 2 Food waste also has a staggering price tag, costing this country … The causes of food waste or loss are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during production, processing, distribution, retail and consumption. For example, poor farmers may choose to harvest their crops prematurely for quick cash. We waste about a third of all food produced for human consumption. This led them to the painful decision to plow over edible crops and dump up to 3.7 million gallons of milk per day onto fields rather than go through the additional cost of harvesting and processing products they could not sell.14 While the government has programs to buy excess produce and donate it to food shelves and emergency relief organizations, the highly specialized processing and transportation networks for many products makes donation difficult and expensive.15 Cosmetic imperfections (leading to so-called “ugly produce”) are another significant source of food waste on farms both before and after harvest, as consumers are less interested in misshaped or blemished items. Food waste, a global problem. This is worth about $162 billion of food. In developing countries, most of the losses at this stage have to do with economic conditions and poor facilities. With one-third of food produced for human consumption lost or … But food waste is a problem that can be solved. 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