The main definition of sustainability is “consumption based on environmental factors taken into consideration” which simplified means that what we buy or eat has to be done so with thought to nature, in order to not harm it. There are several different methods of being sustainable, however, the one that sticks out the most to me is food waste, which unfortunately has become prevalent mostly in the Western world. But what is Food Waste? Per definition, food waste is the unnecessary disposal of edible and healthy food. Studies conducted between 2011 and 2014 reveal that between a third and half of all produced foods are thrown away. They also show that food waste mostly comes from personal households, and not businesses which is a common misconception. In Sweden alone, household waste counts for around three fourths of all food thrown away, with retail businesses coming in last at only two percent.
There are many aspects found in why food is thrown away, both on an individual level, and also to a certain degree commercially. On the individual level, food is mostly thrown away for health reasons. The shelf-life of a certain product is among the more common rationale behind the waste, another factor may be a change in diet, where food an individual deems inedible gets discarded. Reasoning behind stores are a little bit straight forward, as they often stem from constitutional reasons such as the quality and shelf-life.
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Despite several thousands of tons being thrown away daily, world hunger is rampant across several continents, mostly in Africa. There, several hundred, if not thousands of children and adults starve to death each day due to malnourishment. Many political parties in these countries often use the hunger as a political tool in order to gain votes and ultimately take the power. I believe that since world hunger is so widespread, these countries will initiate war in order to gain access to edible crops or such, which eventually will lead to war, in which even more people will be affected and killed.
Going to a less political question into a more environmental question regarding the use of water in producing food. Food is nowadays overproduced than ever before, and just like humans, both cattle and crops needs water to grow. According to my Geography Textbook, about 2500 litres of water is needed to grow a kilogram of rice while beef usually requires around six times as much water. As more and more food is being produced, the supply of water will reduce and eventually run out. Many speculate that a “War on water” will ensue in the decades to come, with an influx of refugees fleeing to places with an abundance of the liquid.
Another factor caused by this mass production is the exploitation of Planet Earth’s natural resources. While crops and cattle are both renewable, they require space to be grown, the Amazon jungle is rapidly being cut down for this reason. It is well known that the Amazon jungle produce much of the oxygen through photosynthesis and once it is cut down, theoretically speaking the amount of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere would be greater than the production of oxygen. This would conclusively lead to the extinction of all carbon-based lifeforms on Planet Earth since these all require an oxygen intake for the blood circulation.
While most of these listed reasons are hypothetical, and would not occur for the near decade or so, precaution should already be taken in order to prevent it from becoming reality. Since the largest aspect of Food Waste was the shelf-life of the product, not much can actually be done if the health of an individual is taken into consideration. However, that is not always the case, as the quality often surpass the date written on the package. Contradicting to myths, that date does not mark the date the food is rendered inedible, but rather the recommended consumption date. If all humans were to follow these guidelines, the majority of food waste would significantly be reduced. Due to legal reasons in most countries, foods that have expired cannot legally be sold in stores, and therefore many stores choose to discard the leftover food. When I practiced at ICA, the manager told me that during the 1990’s they actually bleached the food to make it contaminated before throwing it away. Despite this, many laws throughout Europe have been passed to regulate the waste of food, in that it has to be donated to people in need instead. This is also a major factor in ending world hunger, as it distributes food to those who do not have it.
Another reason to be taken is to minimize your intake of meat, as it has been proven to take an extraordinary amount of water to produce. Since Veganism has been on the rise for the past years, many cattle farms have been shut down, and more eco-friendly alternatives have popped up. I believe that if this trend continues to the point where virtually all cattle farms are shut down, water will become more and more abundant than ever before. With the support of richer countries, this water can be shipped and transported to people in need, successfully ending water scarcity.
Shopping only when necessary is also a factor, since the world is based on supply and demand, where the amounts of a product is based on how many people will buy it. This would be effective, since the amount of food shopped will minimize a lot, and subsequently many companies would go bankrupt. Since food production causes a lot of Carbon Dioxide releases, this would overall make the air and environment cleaner and the Earth a better place to live.
On a personal level, being sustainable is a double edged sword, I do many things that people would consider sustainable, such as expired food (to an extent) and occasionally shopping second-hand. But I also practice other procedures that aren’t good for the environment such as eating meat and flying. Before criticizing, note that much of humanity practice both of these, and calling me out would be hypocritical. On a positive, I’ve cut down my consumption of meat significantly, and I do not fly as often as I’ve used to. But climate change isn’t up to me on a personal level, it’s large corporation that release the majority of Carbon into the atmosphere.
Nonetheless, sustainability is a crucial aspect for humanity. It may appear challenging at first, but those are the fundamental building stones we need to erect for the future, since the earth can repair climate change by its own, albeit once the human race has gone extinct. World hunger isn’t a political topic; it is a human right. World Hunger can be erased. There are several fundamental measurements that are needed to be put to action in the present day, considering how the quantity of natural resources are being exploited by mankind, who take it for granted. Who knows? The sacrifice may someday be rewarded by nature in a cleaner and healthier environment, rid of world hunger, as put through the Pink Floyd song “Chapter 24”: “Change returns success, Action brings good fortune.”
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