Food Waste Causes Damage to the Environment Equal to That of 100,000 Cars

450 million kilos of food - that's about 992,08 million pounds - is wasted every year in Finland. Households alone are responsible of 120-160 kilos - 264-352 pounds - of food being thrown away. Money-wise this is the equal of 500 million euros, and the damage done to the environment is equal to the damage done by 100,000 cars.

Stores and supermarkets often get the blame for food being thrown away, but in actuality it's households that are responsible for the bulk of it.

Among food that's thrown away are fresh vegetables and fruit, home-prepared food, dairy products and bread. Usually in that order.

The biggest reason behind this is the simple fact that food is being purchased way too much. Vegetables and fruit are left unattained for too long, the planned foods never get prepared and the ingredients get stale. The price of the food doesn't seem to be a factor, either: cheap and expensive food gets wasted in equal amounts.

Facts About Food Waste

• One quarter of the world's wasted food would feed all of the world's people suffering from undernourishment and hunger.
• Wasted vitamin C would satisfy the needs of 90 million people.
• Food waste is responsible for 3.3 billions tons of carbon dioxide production annually.
• Even though food gets wasted in Africa, as well, it's mostly due to the lacking in technology and infastructure, as opposed to western countries, where food waste is mostly a result of consumer behavior.

Food Waste is a Choice

Food is being bought too much and prepared too much. People lack self control with their food behavior, something that doesn't necessarily need to happen. The western world has reached a state of excess, which has brought with it a great deal of happiness, but it has also created the modern human who severely lacks in self and personal life control in several areas.

And I'm no hippie.

The fact that food waste is caused damage to the environment equal to that of around 100,000 cars is striking. It can be argued that having a car is a necessity in a lot of situations, and realistically it is, but wasting less food is something that anybody can do without losing any quality of life. After all, it's not just food that gets wasted, but money, as well.

Our knowhow and skills in the kitchen have deteriorated, as everything has become ready made and easy to chew, and it's also had a negative impact on our motivation to both do and even learn things.

But even if you're not a hippie and you're a hard boiled capitalist, surely throwing money away is never a particularly good idea.

Restaurants Also to Blame

Unlike in the case of households, in restaurants food waste is usually not a result of too much food being ordered, but rather too much food being prepared. This is understandable, of course, since it can be hard to predict how much food is going to be ordered, and what food is going to be ordered.

Measurements can still be made, and restaurants should often keep better track of what kind of food gets thrown away. Understanding the customer base and its behavior is key in any business, and restaurants are no different.

In Conclusion

I'm not for any green government regulations and sanctions, but I do feel that making sure that no excess food is being bought just be thrown away is something that a normal person can do in his everyday life. Since it's not even added trouble, it's less trouble. And more money saved.

Buy STEEM with that money, or something.

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