A staggering amount of food is wasted every year, both in business and households. Why is this happening? What can be done to tackle this problem? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.

 

A staggering amount of food is wasted every year, both in business and households. Why is this happening? What can be done to tackle this problem? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge and experience.

The ever rising annual wastage of food in humongous quantities, both in business and homes, has raised concerns. This essay will delve into the reasons behind this phenomenon, as well as propose the solutions to surmount this pressing global issue.

This problem can be attributed to several reasons. The consumerist attitude is primarily blamed for this trend. Nowadays, people have started procuring food in bulk since they surrender to the temptation of availing colossal discounts offered by the supermarkets, which pushes them to purchase beyond their requirements, often leading to huge unconsumed quantities being trashed due outliving their validity. Similarly, businesses, like restaurants, often prepare food more than what is consumed on a given day, resulting in trashing of items still worth consumption. 

Moreover, this wastage is contributed by the spike in human propensity towards celebrating a plethora of events such as marriages, parties, get-togethers, and so on, extravagantly, and affording a wide array of delicacies to the guests, belonging to diverse cuisines from across the globe, in order to elevate their prestige in the society. To add insult to injury, in such gatherings, invitees fill their plates with more than they actually consume, thereby exacerbating the situation.

However, the panacea for this predicament can only be found by the joint efforts of the government and people. The policy makers should don the mantle by organising awareness campaigns to enlighten the masses about the detrimental outcomes of their actions on the environment. Furthermore, they should establish the organisations to foster a link between the surplus food and the deprived people who fail to afford a square meal a day.

To reiterate, I feel even though wastage of food in massive amounts every year is surely a growing and a worrying problem, it can be obliterated easily provided the state takes the initiative by informing people about the aftermath of this wastage.