On August 23, 2020, I accepted my first job offer at a fast-food restaurant, which was exciting because it was my first time working a part-time job. As of today, I absolutely love my position for a variety of reasons. My coworkers are caring and supportive, the work is fast-paced, and my tasks are never monotonous; however, there is one dispiriting aspect of the fast-food chain that saddens my heart after every shift: the overwhelming food waste. The fast-food restaurant expects the night shift employees to waste any food that was not sold by the end of the day or any food items with short shelf lives. In addition, nobody is permitted to take any food that will surely be wasted. Unfortunately, the fast-food restaurant has no control over the decisions made in corporate offices, but all the food waste that takes place in that single fast-food restaurant is a real concern and deserves to be recognized. Imagine all the other fast-food chains, restaurants, factories, and so on that are expected to abide by similar expectations as well. Due to my experiences and concerns, I desire to inform others of the ravening food waste epidemic in our country and discuss the various courses of action that some people have proposed to mitigate an issue that has had the most voracious appetite all along.

Have you ever considered the amount of food that our country wastes every year? Or have you considered the amount of food that you waste every year? According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the United States wasted roughly 40% of the food supply in the year 2010, which corresponds to 133 billion pounds of food and 161 billion dollars thrown in the garbage. Take a moment to read that statistic again. The FDA depends on the year 2010 for data concerning food waste because the year is considered a baseline and a good indicator of our country’s future. At this moment our future appears to be an overwhelming concern because all this time billions of pounds of wasted food has been enlarging landfills, depleting resources, and squandering labor. On top of that, millions of people suffering from hunger and poverty could have been fed all this time too. Without a doubt, food waste is a serious issue in our country, but the source of food waste has to be understood before solutions can be tackled.

The FDA has investigated the reasons for extensive food waste in the United States and has identified factors at the farm, retail, and consumer stages that all contribute to the issue. Farms all across the country handle problems with “drying, milling, and transporting” food, which can lead to vast amounts of waste. In addition, farmers have to combat “insects, rodents, birds, mold, and bacteria” while trying to prepare food items for grocery stores, which can inevitably lead to waste as well. Once the food arrives at grocery stores, not all of it is properly stored and any “ugly” food is quickly discarded, leading to even more food waste. “Ugly” food is basically any food with blemishes that are not considered appealing to consumers; however, all of that “ugly” food is completely fresh, edible, and natural. Speaking of consumers, that is the final stage of food waste identified by the FDA. Consumers contribute to food waste by buying excessive amounts of food, not storing food properly, and choosing to throw away leftovers or extra food. Due to all the factors that lead to food waste in our country, federal, state, and local governments, organizations, and people have proposed several ways to mitigate the issue, but very few ideas are being pursued due to differing views.

In 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the FDA launched an initiative to reduce 50% of food waste by 2030. To achieve the overarching goal of the Winning on Reducing Food Waste Initiative, the organizations plan to gain the support of the government, communities, and households through forms of outreach, such as education, research, voluntary programs, and policy discussions. The purpose of the outreach is to increase food recovery participation across the nation, a plan that the EPA has officially outlined as the Food Recovery Hierarchy. If the USDA, EPA, and FDA successfully increase food recovery participation, food waste will potentially decrease by 50% in the next decade. When examining the Winning on Reducing Food Waste Initiative and the Food Recovery Hierarchy, the organizations clearly focus on reducing the quantities of food accepted at one instant and distributing leftovers to other people, animals, or resources that will benefit from the food. As of today, several states are supporting the Food Recovery Hierarchy by providing incentives and tax breaks to businesses that donate extra food to food banks or shelters. Overall, the Winning on Reducing Food Waste Initiative and its burgeoning support appears to be leading to a solution for the food waste epidemic thriving in our country, but not all people support the formal agreement as a result of contrasting perspectives.

One counterargument to the Winning on Reducing Food Waste Initiative focuses on the incentives and tax breaks awarded to businesses that donate extra food. Other people disagree with the idea of incentives and tax breaks because the free money is only contributing to more food waste. People who disagree with incentives and tax breaks understand that supporting those who donate food is a positive effort, but all the free money that businesses receive for good deeds is spent on more food products that end up wasted too. Therefore, this group of people suggests reducing those incentives and tax breaks or awarding proactive businesses in a different way to ultimately decrease food waste in the long run.

Based on all the statistics, implemented goals, and discussions, food waste is a serious issue; however, not enough people are concerned, not enough people are supporting food recovery ideas, not enough people are taking part in the food waste discussions, and not enough people are collaborating to reach mutual solutions, which can all lead to fruitful change. On that note, my goals are to help people become more aware of the food waste issue in our country and to encourage people to collaborate on this issue together. I hope that you can pass along the message to the next person you are able to because there are many more solutions to find in order to encourage food recovery at all stages of food waste and, if those solutions are never found, our future will be thrown away too.