Down the Drain

     In the past few years, people have been underestimating the power of food waste, and the string of consequences that follow it. Food waste has been a rising problem within the U.S.; nearly half of our food is thrown out to landfills before even reaching stores. The search for the perfect crops to lure consumers evidently has snowballed into a high-end competition within companies and farmers. Imperfect products with possibly an extra head, or slight browning results in most likely being tossed in the trash. This mission amongst production companies evidently leads to  piling to nearly $400 billion worth of food tossed out in one year. Waste as we know, does not simply disappear into thin air. Following the billions worth of food being tossed out, roughly 30% of the world’s agricultural land area has been occupied solely from the production process of dumping food. Potential energy that could have been used to soothe the hungry stomachs of millions starving around the world is rotting away in lumps.Furthermore, food waste and loss has been responsible for 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gases. If ranked amongst countries, food waste produces half of America's greenhouse gas emissions in one year. Ironically, the produce that has come from the environment is harming the Earth due to human possession and the call for perfect produces to decorate our fridges. This issue has been steadily growing, yet not many people acknowledge it as an urgent problem in need of immediate care. Food should be managed and distributed correctly among communities beforehand in order to prevent such problems from arising. The only way to bring a halt to this issue from slight changes in the daily routines of many. Some ways to contribute is through mindful shopping, learning more about the sources of our meals, and acting with large organizations such as the NRDC (National Resource Defense Council).