We waste a lot of food in America

We live in a country where it is literally possible to eat yourself to death; I can think of worse ways to go, but that is truly an amazing fact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8xwLWb0lLY “Food waste in America” Look at the message not the politics.

We grow more than we can eat; we order more at restaurants than we can finish (often not realizing). Case in point, recently at Universal Studios’ Harry Potter World, my family ordered what we thought was the best money conscious meal that could be shared between five people. Not only could we not finish half of it, but also they do not provide to go bags to take the leftovers home; the food was thrown away and there was not a lot we could do about it.

Let us forget about starvation around the world for just a second, and look at food issues closer to home:

·          “Millions of working Americans don’t know where their next meal is coming from” http://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/hunger/

·         “Hunger in America: 2015 United States Hunger and Poverty Facts” http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/us_hunger_facts.htm

You mean to tell me that we waste all this food in America and we have people going hungry because it costs businesses more to donate expiring food than to just throw it away? You mean to say we really have people going hungry in the good ole U.S of A? A harsh reality

So what can we do? I honestly do not have a clue because I am guilty of waste as well, no matter how conscientious I try to be. Do self-inventories of your food waste the next few times you eat out; take a look at the dumpster at the back of the restaurant or at your local supermarket, and look in your own trash before the trash gets picked up.

The first step I guess is to really recognize the issue as an issue, the next step is perhaps to make it profitable (or least cost effective) to donate perfectly good food before it gets wasted.

This is not just about the huge portions that are served at restaurants, or the ability to supersize meals for just pennies; this about the over abundance of food and not knowing what to do with the extra.

What are your thoughts?

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam