Food waste is a trillion dollar problem annually. It’s one of the biggest threats to the environment. It’s particularly intolerable in the face of a growing hunger crisis across the world. Lou explains the surprising reasons we waste so much food, and what we could do to stop it.
SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Key facts on food loss and waste – FAO
http://www.fao.org/save-food/resources/keyfindings/en/
Lipinski’s study on reducing food loss and waste
https://www.wri.org/publication/reducing-food-loss-and-waste
Evans’ food waste study
https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/files/32468825/FULL_TEXT.PDF
Mourad on fighting food waste
Relationship between food waste, diet quality, and environmental sustainability
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/authors?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0195405
The business case for reducing food loss and waste
USDA food waste challenge
https://www.usda.gov/oce/foodwaste/faqs.htm
Love food hate waste
https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/
CREDITS
Writer: Louis Foglia
Editor: Page Ellerson
Researcher: Dushyant Naresh
Supervising Producer: Allison Brown
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Love your videos, appreciate the mostly in the middle points of view…can tell you guys genuinely try to stay in the middle
I guess because I'm poor I never waste food I buy. The store wastes the most. I use to dumpster dive all of my food. Fresh, non-expired food thrown away to make space for newer product, or bags of oranges where only one orange is damaged.
Someone needs to start a business called ugly food where it’s just perfectly good but ugly fruit and veg
if you cook every day you can learn to, and it becomes practical to, not waste any food
You've really opened my eyes to how similar journalism can be to academic research when done right. Always impressed Lou!
I compost most of my food wastes along with cardboard and paper. Most people could do the same and grow a garden or donate the compost to someone who does garden.
how is any of this measured ? someone's weighting up all the leftovers? never seen em round my bins
Thanks Lou, you really know how to cheer a guy up hahaha
Over 50% of the world's agriculture is grown purely to feed livestock. I agree it's important to be mindful of the produce you're purchasing and to be mindful not to overbuy / waste that produce.
That being said, not discussing the environmental & logistical detriment of animal agriculture is short-sighted. Meat that goes unused is far more wasteful than plants that go unused in the big picture.
God I wanna see this issue changed so bad, it's probably the most frustrating environmental issue imo.
I think an easier, better and bigger network for food sharing would help prevent food waste without having to limit choice. Of you can afford to let that chicken go to wast, maybe drop it off in a public food share fridge or put it up for grab on a food share platform so that someone can come, collect and eat it instead.
Self compost!!!
I personally hate it when people at a buffet or in general don't eat up their food. Usually YOU decide on what you are going to eat and if you are even going to order it at all. At buffets you are the one that decides between trying a piece of the chicken that you end up not liking and eating compared to you taking the whole chicken and throwing it away after a few bites. Sure I am somewhat exaggerating, but still. EAT UP YOUR DAM PLATES PEOPLE! I also can't understand what is so hard about planing and eating so that certain things don't go to waste. When you buy something it usually tells you in which time period it should be eaten… So maybe just do it and plan ahead. It's not hard! Also as said in the video. Things that don't smell bad, look bad / way different than usually and that don't make you spit it out after a small bite are mostly fine to eat.
Great video!
I had to live on a very small income for quite some time. That really helps you to learn not to throw out food.
A tip could be to set a weekly budget to buy food. That way you will buy food more efficiently and only the things you will need.
Another tip could be to buy a blender. Leftover fruits and vegetables make great smoothies 😀
I can't remember the last time i threw out food.
Lou, it is an honor.
What is your purpose on earth?
Consumers waste ya, It's bad. But I'd love to see the numbers from the farmers, and grocery stores.. Hell, Restaurants too! Think buffet's. I feel like the daily waste from one company would be far greater then on a customer level. All the sell by dates that expire. How many just toss it? How many repackage it and relist the date to sell old food too. I know in my town, The local gas station would get fresh donuts delivered daily. And the day old ones tossed in the garage. I see stories all the time of Restaurants tossing food after closing in a dumpster and chasing away homeless they would love to have that perfectly good food. Point is, the waste shouldn't be focused just on the consumer. Stores are at fault far more then just marketing.
The religion is actually stealing from the poors… anyways. Great video!
Beme always has interesting relevant topics, keeps an objective and critical mindset and picks news stories that are troubling yet also uplifting…. unlike any tv news station with their fear mongering
YOU ARE NOT SHOWING UP IN MY FEED
do bones with more-effort-than-it's-worth-to-eat-meat left meat count?
I half expected a Blue Apron ad by the end lol.
USA problems
I wish you had addressed Bulk Food, the Costco Effect, Packaging, Subscription services, and Produce/Livestock efficiency comparison
This is why I’m disgusted when I ask to eat something someone else won’t eat but they throw it away instead of eating it or giving it to me
HOme biogas systems could ease the problems biggest part
I saw this video on my feed and I instantly though: "Hey, it´s Lou"
The way some foods are distributed could be contributing to the problem. Bags of apples, oranges, potatoes and onions. Stores will bin an entire bag when just or two in the bag are off. Stores don't have the time and may not be allowed to break packaging to remove the off items to save the ones that are still fine.
Some practice a habit of leaving some food on the plate. I've heard that it is a show of demonstrating that you're rich enough to waste some. Also of a signal from a guest to a host that they're full and can't eat another bite which is re-enforced by hosts who take it upon themselves to ensure the guests' plates are never empty. Conversely older generations that have gone through lean times say "take only as much as you're going to eat, eat everything you took".
Support your local Ugly Food movement. Some distributers are packaging lss-than-perfect food for a discounted price. The food is still fine to eat but may be misshaped, too large or too small. An increased demand for these will filter down to farmers who will get the message to bring to market all of their product instead of only the picture perfect stuff. And you'll save some money too.
The growing food waste is the sign of economics. 60 years ago household food budgets represented 25-30% of expenditures so not wasting food took on a serious tone. Today food budgets might hit 10-15% of expenditure so less attention is paid to it. Housing costs have grown to ridiculous proportions in some areas. Historically housing should have represented just 30% of income. In areas with a housing bubble it has risen to 50-60%.
The cause for this problem is simple but with no easy, quick solution. It is wealth. If income is so large compared to the cost of food, there is a tendency to waste food for various reasons and in all levels.
There is also a tendency to spend more on elaborate, more expensive food when a person eats out. Can't blame the people, food is the most fulfilling type of product one can buy without breaking the bank.
Another good video Lou. I also really love the editing on these vids. All those quirky little images/cartoons etc really add a lot to the experience.
actually, aviation almost has no emissions. Only 10% of its power comes from jet fuel, the rest is some kinda converter that gets leveraged by the jet streams. the lines you see in the sky coming from the planes are chemtrails, in which they use heavy metals to control the weather. do your research everyone and have a nice day!!!
conveniently spotted co2 footprints of India and Russia… but failed to acknowledge lesser than USA when population wise India is 4 times of USA. 0:29
Yo this channel is good !
Dear Beme News, please reactivate Beme Panels. I think it's a good thing to share ideas and opinion, gather information from people and make them heard.
and please make it looks more youtube like, with the quirkiness, it supposed to have, active scenery and visit places where the problems or innovations took place.
and please make something that not just facts as if you can read as an article you can find on news platforms website.
LOU!!!!!! Over 50% of the world's agriculture is grown purely to feed livestock! Livestock is the real thing causing the most harm to the environment…
People with disabilities need plastic straws.
Food banks should accept food that isn't dry goods. Maybe it doesn't last as long as dry goods but it's free and the food has one last chance to be eaten.
Great informative videos, as always thank you!
You’re channel looks like a 13 year olds room. You make everything you talk about sound like a joke.
It blows my mind that food waste on college campuses was reduced by nearly 30% by eliminating trays. I'm also curious if those initiatives have been tied to decreases obesity rates among college students.
Amazing video – thank you 🙂 And thank you for putting Stop Spild Af Mad (our NGO's name – Stop Wasting Food) on your cup 🙂 Stop Spild Af Mad is translated into Stop Wasting Food. Denmark's biggest NGO against food waste.
So I live in town. we're allowed six chickens and that's where all my excess food goes. Problem solved!
Hasn’t the Far East got it right.. no cooking at home but you eat cheaply in the streets.. a lot of home don’t have kitchens so they eat communally.. I love the idea.. I hate cooking.. and because they all eat out they food is cheaper