Why is SO Much Food Wasted? A new report titled "Global food,
waste not, want not" published by the Institute of Mechanical
Engineers has found that 30 to 50 percent of all food produced
in the world never reaches a stomach. The authors of the study
warn that these figures are quite conservative. The large
amounts of land, energy, fertilizers and water that are wasted
in the food production have not been accounted for. In
developing countries this waste is mostly due to inefficient
harvesting methods, poor storage and transportation systems and
an overall inadequate infrastructure which causes almost half of
the food to be wasted before it even reaches the consumer. In
Europe and the US the waste is caused mainly by consumer and
retail behavior. Excessive marketing and discounting promotes
consumers to buy more than what they really need, and not value
food. We throw away 30-50 percent of the food we buy before we
even try it. Black Bear at garbage dump via Shutterstock. Read
more at ENN Affiliate, MongaBay.