Food Waste . . . Half Of All Food Ends Up Thrown Away .

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Many people seemingly lack the knowledge about food waste, which makes it hard to prevent the actual waste of food.In 2013 it was estimated that half of all food is wasted worldwide, according the British Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME). Loss and wastage occurs on all steps in the food supply chain. In low-income countries, most loss occurs during production, while in developed countries much food that about 100 kilograms (220 lb) per person per year is wasted at the consumption stage."This is food that could be used to feed the world's growing population as well as those in hunger today," said Dr Tim Fox, head of energy and environment at the IME.Food loss measures the decrease in edible food mass (excluding inedible parts and seed) "throughout the part of the supply chain that specifically leads to edible food for human consumption".Food waste is food loss occurring during the retail and final consumption stages due to the behavior of retailers and consumers that is, the throwing away of food.Consumers can reduce their food waste output at points-of-purchase and in their homes by adopting some simple measures; planning when shopping for food is important, and spontaneous purchases are shown as often the most wasteful. Proper knowledge of food storage reduces foods becoming inedible and thrown away.The demand for water in food production has increased. The total amount of fresh water used by humans today has gone up by 3.5 times.Food waste can be dumped, but it can also be fed to animals, or it can be biodegraded by composting or anaerobic digestion, and reused to enrich soil.AVOID FOOD WASTE . ..Food waste is throwing away food, which could have been eaten by oneself or by others.Food waste is buying more than one actually needs.Food waste is rejecting a piece of fruit, because it is slightly wrinkly, bumped or has a spot. Food waste is throwing away food because it has been too long on the dining table. Food waste is pushing the older food to the back of the fridge or cupboard, and placing fresher food in front.Food waste is putting new food in the freezer, before using the same kind of food you already have in the freezer.Food waste is throwing out the last bit of food along with the food packaging. Food waste is removing and discarding several layers of outer leafs of lettuce, cabbage, onions, etc. Food waste is merely using the amount stated in the recipe and then throwing away what's left of the food. Food waste is discarding food, that have been stored wrongly and which has moulded, rotted, dried out, etc.Food waste is discarding meat, vegetables, and stems used to make a soup or a broth.Buy what you need and use what you buy and think in full-use, rather than pick-and-choose.Some of the waste is made up of things like peelings, cores and bones, but the majority (60%) is, or once was, perfectly good food.Most of it ends up in landfill sites where it rots and releases methane, a damaging green house gas. Throwing away food is also a huge waste of the energy, water and packaging used in its production, transportation and storage. The CO2 impact associated with the food waste that could have been eaten is equivalent to taking one in four cars off UK roads.