Current Event - Food Waste

In the beginning of the quarter many of us found that a huge contributor to our ecological footprint's was our food consumption habits; this prompted myself and several others to make changes to the way we eat as one of our goals for the quarter. Buying organic, seasonal, and local foods is important, but another big factor in the sustainability of food is how much food we waste. Sustainable America is a great organization that posts a lot of helpful information for consumers (like us!) wishing to make their everyday lives more sustainable.

Recently they published an interactive article about food waste (I found it on Upworthy); it's chock-full of facts about how much food gets wasted each year by the average American, the cause of most of that waste, and the consequences. It really puts into perspective what it actually means each time you throw away that wilted spinach or rotten banana. Throwing away food may not seem as bad as throwing away plastic, but when millions of people do it every day it really adds up, and it becomes a major source of methane emissions, water consumption, and wasted money. Just because food biodegrades easier than other materials doesn't mean we should't think twice about refining our eating habits to reduce these harmful environmental impacts and save a few dollars.

THE QUIZ:
On the page dedicated to food waste on Sustainable America's website there is a short quiz you can take (fo' free this time) to see what your food waste habit's are. It asks you things like whether you eat out more or prepare your own meals, how often food tends to go bad in your fridge, etc. One thing I thought was interesting and kind of funny was the question asking if you had kids under age 18. My first thought was how much food gets wasted when you have babies and toddlers throwing macaroni and cereal on the ground at every meal-definitely a lot of waste there. I ended up scoring "medium" on the food waste level. The score itself is a bit vague, but it was helpful in giving me ideas on how to progress towards my third goal of reducing the food sector of my footprint.

Go take the quiz! It might open your eyes to some unsustainable eating habits you may not have thought of before.