Where'd the food go?

Do you recall your last dinner? Scraping away the excess into the trash, washing the dish. But notice, those scraps, odd ends you don’t want to eat because “they taste weird”, pile up in your trash can, forgotten. Soon enough, they’re hauled away, buried in a landfill, and left to rot in the dark. Have you ever actually thought about the amount you throw out?

Let’s talk about the holidays: a time filled with joy, family, and most of all, tasty food. Dishes crowd the table from breakfast to dinner, filling the room with the warm aroma of a freshly cooked meal ranging from turkey to pies. Chatter rises as your family gathers around, ready to eat. You sit down, ready to fill your stomach. After eating some, however, you feel full, your hunger quenched. What happens to the rest on your plate? Scraped into the trash, with the other junk from around your house. The leftover mashed potatoes? Gone. The brussel sprouts you avoided? Gone from our plates. Gone from our awareness, and gone into the ground. The appetizer you didn't like? All the Earth hears is the sound of a fork raking against the plate as the food lands into a gaping hole, one that leaves an even bigger hole in our environment.

According to the International Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the US discards more food than any nation: 120 billion pounds ends up in landfills. That is equivalent to each person in America throwing away 325 pounds of waste. In fact, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency cites that the amount of food wasted has a value of 218 billion dollars. Billion, not 100 million, not 10 million, or hundreds of thousands. A billion is 1000 times one million. To put this money into perspective, this could buy 130 million meals for Americans struggling. It’s worth pointing out that 35 million Americans face food insecurity. 10 million of those people are children.

You might be thinking, “How come food in landfills is bad? Isn’t food biodegradable?” Well, I propose a question to you: Did you consider what the food produces when it degrades? Here’s the answer: methane, carbon-dioxide and chlorofluorocarbons, which all heavily contribute to global warming. Specifically, 11% of the entire world’s emissions. Food, contrary to popular belief, does not decompose slowly: depending on the type of food, food decomposition can range from months to decades. The half eaten hot dog you threw away without a second thought, after decades, still looks “good as new” in a landfill. Food that sits decaying in landfills also produces nitrogen pollution, which causes algae blooms. Algae steals nutrients from animals that require them and destroys clean water sources.

Landfills themselves exacerbate the problems. Food waste piles on. So not only are the tater tots from lunch decaying, but so is your doctor’s, or your teacher’s half eaten sandwich on top of it, shoved closely together. Layer after layer of waste forms a kind of underground oven, trapping gases with nowhere to go. This also means the bacteria decomposing them can no longer access oxygen to perform aerobic respiration, which is efficient. Instead, the bacteria perform anaerobic respiration, where methane gas is produced. In any given landfill, organic waste is emitting 45% to 50% carbon dioxide and 50% to 55% methane. Additionally, one ton of methane is 84 to 87 times more harmful to our ozone layer and environment than CO2 over a 20-year period. So, the little slice of bread, or the “maybe” expired can of beans you tossed without a second thought has a much bigger impact than you might think.

We toss bread and fruit and vegetables and leftovers and cans and cartons and coffee… the list does not end.

Another significant contributor to this issue is expiration dates. Millions of people will misinterpret labels and throw away perfectly good food to avoid issues, and for security. This is rooted directly in the lack of knowledge of labels. Let me inform you right now.

“Best by” refers to when a food is at peak flavor or quality, says Janell Goodwin, a technical information specialist with the USDA. “Sell by” indicates how long a store should sell or display a product for inventory management reasons. The “use by” date is the last recommended day that a product can be eaten at peak quality. BEST IF USED BY describes quality “where the product may not taste or perform as expected”.

According to her and many other scientists, there's no reason to trash something just because the date printed has passed. If the date passes during home storage, a product should still be safe if handled properly until the time of spoilage is evident.

So, what can you do? Freezing excess food, like meat and bread, is a great way to cut down on waste. Only purchase what you know you will eat, especially when at places like restaurants. Try to donate to others who do not have the luxury to have too much food. While many feel lazy to compost scraps, know that every lost scrap contributes tons more to the environment than your laziness measures. Next time you buy lunch, a snack, or a drink from the cafeteria, don’t discard it so readily. Be less than the average American who disposes of 1 pound of food a day. Don’t be a part of the problem: be a part of the people who strive to fix it, because you truly can make a difference.