1. Introduction
The food waste issue has been growing and has reached the levels where the food waste is the biggest category of waste that reaches landfills and incinerators than any other kind of municipal waste. Generation of the food waste is increasing and with it the economic loss of the country. On one side, we have poverty with insufficient food and on the other we are throwing vast amounts of fresh or produced food away. The paper will examine the issue of food waste in the United States and possible solutions to the problem, which is causing the economic loss and environmental damage. The thesis of the paper follows: it is necessary to prioritize sources of the food waste along the supply chain to reduce the economic, social and environmental impacts.
The topic is important and should be addressed since the dealing with food is not sustainable and because the trend of the waste food has been steadily increasing. The food waste has increased for about 50% since the year 1974 and on average US family of 2.63 a family member generates in one year around 100 kg of wet food waste. 43.6 Million tons per year of waste food is being produced in the US from the households and restaurant combined (Pinto, Zilberman, 172). 40 % of the food in the United States goes uneaten, which is equivalent to $165 billion each year for which has been consumed 25% of all fresh water and much of unnecessary chemicals, land and energy. Almost all waste food ends up in the landfills where it is accountable for 25% of the country’s methane emissions. The reduction of food wasted for 15% could feed more than 25 million Americans every year. It is necessary to improve the resource productivity (Natural Resources Defense Council, 1-26). The recent history has shown that the problem of food waste is growing and therefore the researches on the topic are needed to be addressed and solved. Recent evidence from various organizations has shown the alarming statistics and negative impact on different areas the waste food is having.
2. Discussion
2.1. Review of the problem
Economic implications of waste food are enormous. The waste food is happening on the all levels of food supply chain. During the production, transportation, storage and consuming a lot of food waste are being produced. The majority of the food waste happens during the consumption phase in the United States. Consumers are spending money in an inefficient manner, which is showing in the big proportions of food waste. Globally $750 billion is being lost each year because of the food waste. In the United States the estimated economic loss was in the year 2010 calculated at the $161.6 billion. The top food losses were meat, poultry and fish (30% and $48 billion), vegetables (19%, $30 billion) and third dairy products 17% and $27 billion (Buzby, Hyman, Wells, 1-17). Form the figure below it is seen that the food waste in the United States results in food loss in majority among the consumers and less waste is produced at the retail level. Loses from food supply were the biggest in the grain products (31%), fruit (29%), fresh vegetables (34%), fluid milk (32%), fish and seafood (39%), eggs (28%), added sugar and sweeteners (41%) and added oil and fats (38%). Food loss is happening also on the retail level but is in comparison to consumer food loss lower.
Figure 1 Food Waste in the United States
Source: Buzby, Hyman, Wells, 12.
Social implication of waste food is resulting in unnecessary health problems. On one side, we have overeating and obesity problems and on the other side the poor that cannot afford food and in the middle the vast amount of food waste (Bouchet, 40). In 2014 in the US, 14% (17.4 million households) of households were food insecure which means that did not have the access to enough food at all times with 5.6% of the households with very low food security (Coleman-Jensen,Gregory, Rabitt, Singh, 3).
Environmental implications of waste food are also causing concerns. The carbon footprint is the total amount of the greenhouse gases and includes the emissions caused during the agricultural, farm energy use and non-energy related emissions from soils and livestock. The United States are on the second place in the global carbon footprint after China in the greenhouse gas emission and has been in 2010 more than twice the amount of the emissions of all road transport in the county (FAO, 17-19). This carbon footprint is the result of the previous graph shown about the percentage of specific food waste, which was the biggest in that area of meat and sausages, poultry and vegetable. Among the environmental concerns is also the water footprint. The water footprint includes all surface and ground water that has been consumed by agriculture. The water footprint of the agricultural production was in US was more than 38 times the blue water footprint of households or 3.6 times the total USA consumption in 2010 (FAO, 25- 28). Another environmental implication that can be reduced with the reduction of waste food is the land use. The use of land and its occupation can lower the productive capacity and results in land degradation. In 2007 the amount of food wastage occupied around 1.4 billion hectares which is equal to 28% of global agricultural land area food production. The non-consuming is hurting the environment since with the land degradation the reduction of land capacity to provide goods and services cause additional problems. The animals are also the source of degrading the environment along with the loss of biodiversity (FAO, 36-42). With industrial farming also the systematic use of pesticide and fertilizers that are used in order to increase yields and productivity are having the land and health implications (Bouchet, 30-40).
2.3. The recent history
Food waste in thousand tones has increased since the year 1960 onward. In 1960 there were 12.200 tons of food waste, in 1970 12.800 in 1980 13.000, in 1990 23.860, in 2000 30.700 in 2005 32.930 in 2008 35.740, in 2011 36.310 and in 2012 36.430. From the chart, we can see that in America the food waste has been steadily growing and was in 1960 accounted for about 10 % of all the waste but today it represents one of the biggest shares. In 2012 the food waste was accountable for 14.5% of all waste and only the paper and paperboard waste was bigger than the food waste (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2)
Figure 2 Waste food trend from 1970 to 2012
Surce: United States Environemtnal Protection Agency, 2.
Food waste happens in all areas and stages of food supply chain for different reasons of dependency on the local conditions of each country. In high income regions the lost and waste food are higher in downstream phases of the food chain. In developed countries the food waste happens in processing, distributions and consumption and less in agricultural production and postharvest and storage. The greatest percentage of food waste for this region is a result of the consumption (FAO, 1-17).
2.4. Debates surrounding the issue and proposed solutions
When talking about the debate and proposed solutions in reduction of food waste various different perspectives could be taken into an account from the perspective of the households, society, and government. All three layers are important and most act towards the reduction of waste in order to achieve the desired goals. Government must take the action with pointing out the problems and address the issue with frameworks and laws that are in accordance with the food waste reduction that will promote the less incineration, landfill and be headed towards the industrial use and other smart ways to use the food that would otherwise went to the waste. With government actions and promotions the society as a hole would start to apprehend the greater problem the waste food represents where everyone one can make a difference. If the society would work in accordance with the food waste reduction this would greatly affect the individual households which reproduces a big amount of the food waste. All three layers must work together and influence the corporations, restaurants and all other actors in the food supply chain to reduce food waste.
The debate about the food waste has been present on the global, federal and local levels. On the global level one of the most important actors is the United Nations, which have with the Sustainable Development Goal in 2015 set a target to reduce the food waste by half till the year 2030. The unsustainable consumption and production must be reduced, since the third of all produced food is never eaten. The 12 goal set the framework on how the reduction of waste food should be handled. The developed countries must take the lead, with implementing the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources. Reduction of food waste must happen along the supply chain, including the post-harvest losses with prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse. Promotion of organizational sustainable practices and public procurement with setting the national policies and priorities, provision of relevant information and awareness raising, strengthening the scientific and technological capacity and tools to monitor sustainable consumption and production (United Nations, n.p.).
Food Waste Reduction Alliance has focused on reducing the food waste from food manufacturers, retailer, restaurants and wholesalers in the United States. The goals are to avoid and reduce food waste in supply chains, increase donations of healthy and safe food that would otherwise have gone to waste, or send it to the food banks to help the fight the hunger, to divert the food waste from landfills such as animal feed, conversion from waste to energy and composting (Food Waste Reduction Alliance, 3-7). The companies and organizations are confronting various barriers in reducing the waste food such as transportation constrains, liability and regulatory concerns and constrains, insufficient storage and recycling options (Food Waste Reduction Alliance, 13). Much improvement can be made in this area since in 2013 only 14% of waste food was donated and only 36% recycled with the majority of the food waste being disposed 50% (Food Waste Reduction Alliance, 15). The FWRA is proposing solutions with the improvement of the food donation and recycling with shared targeting success and lessons learned among the companies and sectors. Barriers stated can be overcome with the collaborative opportunities and policy change, such as tax policies to encourage additional food donation. Shared educational platforms can also be used (Food Waste Reduction Alliance, 20).
The Environmental Protection Agency has developed the hierarchy of options for mitigating the food waste. The reduction of food waste and feeding hungry people are most preferred methods followed by feeding of animals and industrial uses. The least preferred are incinerated, landfill and composting. The agency is aware that many citizens do not even realize how much food is thrown away and that with the reduction there are benefits for all. Households can save the money, reduce the methane emissions, conserves the resources and energy. The reduction of waste food can be achieved with the planning, prepping and right storing of food. The agency promoted the donations to the food banks and composing rather than throwing food away (United States Environmental Protection Agency, n.p.). EPA is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture – USDA and introduced the first food waste goal – to reduce the food waste for 50% by the year 2030. United States Department of Agriculture is involved in various activities in order to reduce food waste. It stresses out the importance of the consumer education about the food loss and waste, since the consumers are responsible for 21% of food loss and waste in the country. It offers the tips how to reduce the waste. Consumer education on the food storage through the Food Safety and Inspections Services has been enhanced. In 2013 the USDA and EPA launched the program U.S. Food Waste Challenge with joining together consumers, food producers, retailers, nonprofits and government agencies with one goal to reduce the food waste. The program did not set any goals and official targets for reduction, but focused on the awareness rising, but that changed in the year 2015. The department is promotes recycling with animal feed, composting and energy generation that keep the food waste out of the landfills. The department is providing advice in reduction of food waste with consumer education about the issue and food storage, on-farm storage with supporting of the rural and connecting the produce importers with charitable institutions. The department promotes the innovation that will help reduce, recover and recycle waste food for business, organizations and households with better management. There are various projects among many also the minimization of food waste in school meals programs (United States Department of Agriculture – USDA, n.d.).
3. Policy recommendations
3.1. My solution proposal
The solution and policy recommendation is composed of three different layers: government, society and households. The proposition for the first is that the Congress creates the legislation and law to tax the big food waster in the food supply chain which would promote the donation to the people that are living in insecure households without enough food and which are dealing with the poverty.
The higher tax would promote the donations to the food banks. With reduction of the food waste the hungry would be fed and the nation as a whole would save money and protect the environment from negative consequences and impacts of landfilling and incineration. Policy should be formed on the federal level and some agencies that have been so far involved with the reduction of waste could be the leading actors.
The government is responsible for leading and without the policy; recommendation, framework or legislation the food waste is harming the society, nations, individuals and the environment. There have been seen some progress with the EPA and USDA has already announced the first national goal to reduce the food waste by half within the next 14 years. The awareness raising did not bring the desired goals the voluntary reduction of food waste must become obligatory. Businesses could be offered the fair -market value of food being donated.
On the society level the further promotion and awareness rising is need from already involved actors, but also with involving more diverse actors since in the reduction of food waste every single one can help to archived the desired goals. With this the society and consumer behavior would change which would have an effect on all the supply chain and make the producers and all actors to act in accordance of the consumer habits. In the society should know norms of acceptable and unacceptable handling with food. In the society the most effect can have the restaurants, retailers, food suppliers that are also responsible for a big part of the food waste. With sustainable techniques and production the whole society could come over the barriers that enable actors to donate food or give it to the food banks and reduce the amount of food in landfills. The major actors of food supply chain could donate a lot of the food instead throwing it away, which would help tackle the food insecure households. This would be also achieved with the government imposed higher tax for food waste.
Policy is focused on households and food services. The business should have the obligatory education and training about the waste food consequences and learn how to avoid and reduce it. The food services should adjust their portions with limited menu choices, providing the optional free refills, waste audits with staff engagement through rewards or initiatives to participate in the reduction of food waste.
The households could also be taxed based on waste food they produce, which would promote more effective and efficient buying of food and making of homemade composting. The awareness raising should be further promoted and carried out that could bring the reduced expenses. The promotion could be carried out with commerce on national television and obligatory school courses and education about the food waste in high schools with involving the parents.
3.2. Pros and cons of proposed solution and concerns
Pros of the proposed solution can be seen from the statistical evidence retrieved from Statistical Portal. The online survey was conducted in the year 2013 and the next figure shows that the 62% participants personally knew someone who has struggled to afford food in the past 5 years. This is a social problem that has various reasons, one of them is also poverty, but can be resolved with the proposed solutions by giving the food to the charity, donation and to the food bank that would further give the food to the ones in need (The Statistics Portal, n.p.).
Figure 3 the % of people who personally knew anyone who has struggled to afford food in the past 5 year in US in the year 2013
Source: The Statistics Portal, n.p.
At the household level the reduction of throwing food away and causing the food waste is also possible. Awareness rising can affect the consumer and producers’ behavior. From the figure below we can see which products the participants in the online survey bought in 2013 to get proteins. The poultry, fish, eggs are one of the products that are the biggest among the waste food. With awareness rising of the products the consumers should take particular interest because they contribute to the biggest proportions of food waste we could influence the buying patterns and reduce the food thrown away because of the expired date or other reasons (The Statistics Portal, n.p.).
Consumers must be more aware of the products that are most common among the food waste and try to buy more appropriate portions that would not resolve in the garbage. The promotion among the consumers should not be hard, since all individuals would like to decrease their expenses and many are even not aware about the food waste they produce and they do not see it a severe problem as in the reality is.
Figure 4 the consuming of proteins in the United States based on the protein source in 2014
Source: The Statistics Portal, n.p.
The proposed policy and solution would bring the desired goals since there is a possibility to reduce the food waste. The focus would be on the consumers and households that would further affect with their actions, buying patterns also on the producers. The focus would also be on society and governmental level that would promote the efficient use and production of sources through all food supply chain. In 2009 the total avoidable food waste in the country was at 55.41 million metric tons. Consumers throw away 33.37 tons in one year and the figures exclude non-edible parts (The Statistics Portal, n.p.).
There can be made a lot of progress with awareness raising and legislation imposed since the estimates that can be possible can bring a lot of benefits for all involved and result in better life standard and conditions of living.
Figure 5 Avoidable food waste by type in US in 2009 in tons per year
Source: The Statistics Portal, n.p.
Around half 40-50% of the food waste comes from consumers and 50 to 60 % of the business. It is important to focus on both segments. Individuals would be influenced with raising awareness and education courses in school and would comply the buying of food with the realistic needs. On the other hand the business should be obliged to reduce the waste with imposing the tax on the amount of food waste produced. It is not enough to let the companies decided on moral and ethical grounds since this would not reach the desired goals to reduce the food waste by half in the near future. From the picture we can that the food loss is happening in all supply chain. With the higher taxes for food waste and education with training the below picture would have smaller percentages of wasted food.
Along the supply chain many improvements can be made at all levels from production, postharvest, processing and packaging, distribution and retail and the biggest among the consumer level.
Figure 6 Food loss in supply chain in US
Source: Natural Resources Defense Council, 6.
The companies would be taxed, which would result in greater donations of food to the banks and individuals or to the farms for feeding the animals. The cons of the proposed policy solutions lie in the problem of passing the regulation in both houses and achieving the raised taxes. Many lobbies mainly organizational and business would be against the paying higher taxes and this could result in longer time needed for possible implementation of changes. The solutions would bring a higher burden on the economy, but is needed to reduce the food waste that is having great impact on different areas. It is logical to do something about the issue that has a negative impact and is not according to the sustainable development. There are many obstacles ahead in implementing the framework on a federal level, but the consequences can bring benefit to all.
4. Conclusion
Food waste has become a great problem that has many negative consequences. It affects the economy, society, health condition with degradation of the environment and further pollution. The world is confronted with the waste food issue and on the other side with the obesity and poverty and hunger. The problem in the United States has been addressed by various different organizations, but so far actions have been focused only on awareness rising with the promotion of reduction the food waste without any obligation for the organizations, food suppliers, companies or consumers. A vast amount of produced and bought food is thrown away. The landfilling and incineration are the least preferred tactics since does not tackle the problem effectively. The reuse, recycle, composting and donations are more in accordance with the sustainable development, production and consumption. The thesis of the paper was expressed that it is necessary to prioritize sources of the food waste along the supply chain to reduce the economic, social and environmental concerns. The statistics have shown that the half of the food waste is made by the households and another half of the business. To resolve the issue the solutions and policies implemented in the future must include both. Awareness raising, training and education along with higher taxes for the biggest food wasters must be imposed. The moral and ethical obligations are not enough to reduce the food waste on the minimal levels possible. The policy is needed since the trend of growing of waste food has been seen in America with every greater consumption and food waste among the consumers, restaurants along the whole supply chain. The promotion and higher taxes would improve and show the donation of food that is meant to go to waste to charities, donations to individuals that are living in insecure food households or giving the food to feed the animals as preferable to throwing away and landfilling.
5. Work cited
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