Food Waste causes Climate Change. Here's how we stop it.

In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I look at the problem of food waste. Specifically, I look at how food waste both in America and across the world is a massive problem for climate change, the environment, and hunger. By addressing food waste in farms, grocery stores, and at home, we could potentially feed billions of people and curb the massive emissions generated to make food and from food waste that ends up in the landfill. There are some pretty simple fixes to food waste like creating a shopping list, using guides to figure out when your food actually spoils, or creating a compost area and then composting food scraps. As a Vox video on the topic puts it, food waste is the world's dumbest problem. But if we address food waste head-on, we will be well on our way to solving climate change and mitigating world hunger.

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#FoodWaste #ClimateChange #FoodInsecure

[OurChangingClimate]

What steps do you take to prevent food waste?

[AnimilesYT]

Here in the Netherlands we have 2 types of expiration dates. TGT ('te gebruiken tot'; 'usable until') is used for products which spoils easily like meat, fish, etc. After this date you should throw it away for safety reasons. THT ('tenminste houdbaar tot'; 'atleast usable until') is used for all products which don't spoil quickly. After this date the quality could degrade, but it is usually still safe to eat. I often eat something a few months (or sometimes a year) after this date as long as it smells and tastes alright.
There are still issues with the dates since there are no laws on testing the dates. But I think this system is better than an "expiration date" for everything since it suggests that the food isn't eatable once said date has passed.

[belygorod]

I remember tomatoes my grandparents had, a small amount just for themselves. Those were the ugliest tomatoes I have seen in my life but the best I ever tasted.

[MONi_LALA]

In my opinion, people who grew up in the society embedded in materialism and capitalism get used to the idea of convience and abundance. Many problems are created out of those ideas. From food waste, single-use containers from takeout, fast-fashion, to obesity. The cheaper it is, the more convient it is, the more they sell. And it works everytime. I grew up in a country where many can't afford convenience and abundance. People, even corporations, often reuse, and make stuffs and frugally conserve their food and resources. However, that does not result in prosperous economy. I often ask myself 'can environmental protection and economic growth go hand in hand?', often the answer is no. I really want to see if there is a successful example of growth and protection in balance. Because in the political narrative, economic growth often get the attention from both politicians and citizens then environmental protection. And there will be no doubt about the amount of interests people will have if we can have both. But I don't know if I'll live 'till the day that happen to the U.S.

[QuestForEco]

This is such an eye-opening video. It's crazy how humans have messed up everything, even something as simple and essential as food!

[Dread-]

i dont understand. first world countries waste food because there is more of it, and most of the time the food is still edible.
while poor countries suffer from food shortages. there should be more rules in place to avoid waste

[rovingwaves]

50 years ago, it was considered as an unimaginable moral crime. Nowadays our generation takes food on the plate for granted and do not feel too bad for throwing away some leftovers. This is the most repulsive side of consumerism that is so strongly rooted in our society and there is not one known solution. It is an amalgamate of changing our consumerist behaviour, (2 for 1 etc.), government intervention through education, taxes, laws and innovative market based solutions.

[neildegrassetyson]

Hey, maybe it is different in the USA but i saw this video on ''ugly'' veggies and fruits they sold for a cheaper price but they found out that these were already being sold just by other sectors. They explained that they never throw away the ugly produce they just sell it as second class.

[ionitaa]

"The illusion of abundance" is about to fade away...

[builder]

This is definitely a serious problem. I worked in a college dining hall as a student and I saw so much perfectly good food thrown into trash bags at the end of the day or meal period. Each day several trash bags full of food would just be discarded.

[berlineczka]

I do not remember when was the last time when I check expiration date on a dairy product (milk, yoghurt, cream, soft cheese, buttermilk etc.). If it's bad, YOU'D KNOW IT. There is no way around the smell and/or consistency, if it's spoiled. Otherwise, if it looks fine and smells fine, it's fine to eat it.

[onepiecebarca]

My family owns a store/market where we mostly sell food(organic and processed). If you don't understand it, it's ok, because as far as I know it's something missing in the first world countries where supermarkets are the only place where you buy food, at least in the big cities. Anyways, what I want to say is, when people buy fruit and vegetables at our store they choose the freshest, the best of the best. The "lower" quality ones get used by my family. My mom cooks so well, and uses almost everything left there. We aren't missing out on the "best" products cause my mom knows how to treat the "unwanted" ones the right way. All those would end up in the rubbish if we didn't do this. It makes me feel good.

[LeCVSUVL]

I've never been much of a food waster and always made sure that i compost every little bit that would have end in the trash, but i didn't know that such small thing as an "Expiration Date" could make me unconsciously waste even more food just by asuming that after this date it is no longer edible. Thanks, take care :)

[Angie-lphk]

I'm not gonna lie...I do a lot of "visual" shopping too whenever I go out.
If a produce is sitting there by itself, I would definitely think something is wrong with it!
Next time I go out to buy groceries, I will definitely keep this idea in mind and try to get over this old habit!

[MatthewVandeputte]

Those stats blew my mind. Thanks for making this!

[NorthStarPNW]

Another major contributing factor is that most people do not know HOW TO STORE perishable food before use. Some fruit and vegetables go into the fridge, some don't. Some must be stored in crisper drawers that vent inside the fridge, some must be stored in crisper drawers that don't vent (in order to maintain humidity). Some foods naturally outgas as they decay and can spoil nearby foods. No wonder so much perishable foods goes bad! (Not to mention certain foods (beef) ruin the climate because of their environmental footprint.)

[vikenemma]

When I eat a meal and don't eat all of it I save it. Always. Instead of eating snacks throughout the day I eat from the leftover food from lunch.
One of the great ways of preventing food waste is realising that the food isn't for one time. But can be eaten over the course of a few hours.

[annadang]

I feel very sad for food that is left on someone's plate (especially in restaurants)... I've seen some people order a huuuuge plate and then leave ¾ of it!

[micheals]

The biggest question this video left me with is why is food waste going to land fill? Where I live it goes into making compost. Food waste is a valuable resource

[sushi]

I don't think me and my family waste that much food at all. My mom always said that the "best by" date doesn't really matter and that you just have to taste the food to check if it's still good. My family just has this really nice mindset of not wasting stuff (in general, but also with food). I think that it's really valuable to have this kind of thinking, especially in today's wasteful society. It's definitely also a country thing, bc i think that the country i'm from has a better way with not wasting food than, let's say, the US. But there are ofc also wasteful corporations and people here.