The global concern of food wastage has risen in recent years, with numerous individuals unknowingly adding to this problem. Elton (2008) reports that more than half of the food produced worldwide is wasted. Marie (2012) highlights America as the primary contributor to continental food waste and emphasizes its ability to provide sustenance for 200 million people. Additionally, Love Food Hate Waste (No Date) reveals that in the United Kingdom, 30.8% of daily food production is wasted. Similarly, according to New Straits Times (2010), urban Malaysians dispose of up to one million kilograms of food from their kitchens.
All the resources invested in cultivating, manufacturing, and transporting food are wasted, resulting in a loss of time, effort, and money. This waste eventually leads to the release of methane gas (CH4), which is 20 times more damaging to the ozone layer than carbon dioxide. When food is discarded, both valuable nourishment and the resources used to produce it go to waste. Let’s consider an apple as an example: growing this fruit requires trees that contribute to deforestation by occupying land. Moreover, the food industry’s production and transportation processes contribute to carbon dioxide emissions through the use of fossil fuel energy.
The production and disposal of crops requires a significant amount of water. For instance, throwing away just one apple wastes enough drinking water to flush the toilet seven times. Similarly, producing a single hamburger consumes 2,400 litres of water, with the meat accounting for 2,200 litres. This means that every burger we consume uses enough water to fill sixteen bathtubs. When we consider the annual amount of food waste, the water wasted is equivalent to the annual flow rate of the Mississippi river (United Nations, 2013).
It is important to manage our health by addressing imbalanced food consumption as it is believed to be a major reason for food wastage and can result in an unhealthy lifestyle. Being conscious of food waste also means being mindful of our overall food intake. The following summary outlines the effects of food wastage on our well-being.
When we overindulge in food, it can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle and result in food wastage. The excessive consumption of food can cause a significant amount of it to remain unused within our bodies because either our bodies cannot absorb all the necessary vitamins and minerals or we absorb too much fat. Consequently, individuals become overweight and face increased risks for diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart attacks. Therefore, it is crucial to prioritize healthy eating habits in order to maintain good health.
