{"id":12793,"date":"2016-04-27t20:08:36","date_gmt":"2016-04-27t20:08:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dpetrov.2create.studio\/planet\/wordpress\/waste-not-wednesday-what-is-food-waste\/"},"modified":"2016-04-27t20:08:36","modified_gmt":"2016-04-27t20:08:36","slug":"waste-not-wednesday-what-is-food-waste","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/waste-not-wednesday-what-is-food-waste\/","title":{"rendered":"waste not wednesday: what is food waste?"},"content":{"rendered":"

a restaurant manager looks begrudgingly at the four cases of tomatoes he\u2019s about to throw out at the end of a shift. a grocery store owner packs up the remains of his inventory that he can\u2019t use. a teen with dish duty for the evening scrapes off the lingering mashed potatoes from her dinner plate. what do all these scenarios have in common? they are examples of food waste, a growing food security issue. food waste is a social, economic and environmental triple-threat, bearing serious impacts on the way we live.<\/p>\n

as a kid, you were always told to finish your plate. there\u2019s a huge stigma against this misuse of resources, yet a very paradoxical relationship between the amount of food we produce as a nation and the number of people that are hungry. approximately one-third of all food produced worldwide results in food waste or loss within food production and consumption systems. when this data is converted to calories, this means that roughly 1 in 4 calories intended for consumption is never actually consumed.<\/p>\n

food waste is more than just scraping off your mashed potatoes after sunday dinner. in addition to households, food waste can be recovered from schools, grocery stores, and restaurants, many of which are prohibited from donating the excess to charities. food waste can occur at every step of the supply chain, streaming from producers, distributors, and finally, the consumer. every group involved is accountable for the overall problem.<\/p>\n

in farming, fruits and vegetables that are either never harvested or lost between the harvest and the sale constitutes food waste at the production level. farmers also overproduce in an effort to compensate for inclement mishaps such as harsh weather events, or infestation. furthermore, farmers need to have a good eye for style \u2014 food style, that is. the aesthetic value of food is of huge concern to farmers for fear of not being able to sell the so-called \u201cugly produce.\u201d as a result, only the best-looking produce is harvested, with the rest of this unappealing, yet perfectly edible food piling into a rotting heap.<\/p>\n

at a glance, these truths can be very overwhelming. however, the solution to the food waste epidemic really starts with you\u2014the consumer. anyone can reduce your foodprint by incorporating preventative steps into your daily life.<\/p>\n

start out small<\/strong><\/h2>\n

begin at home:<\/p>\n