About a month ago, I found myself channel surfing right before bed. From Jersey Shore to Toddlers and Tiaras, nothing seemed to catch my eye. I had almost given up hope, but as I was truly dedicated to my search, I continued on.
That was until I landed on the Food Network Channel and began to watch a special titled “The Big Waste.”
During this special, esteemed chefs Ann Burrell, Bobby Flay, Michael Simon and Alex Guarnaschelli all set out on a mission to find wasted foods to use to create a meal and feed around 100 guests. From farms to grocery stores, the four went just about everywhere searching for unwanted foods. From the beginning, they were hesitant and did not believe they would be able to find enough high quality products to create their dishes.
What they found was the large abundance of perfectly good and healthy foods that are wasted on a daily basis. This waste is due to picky consumers wanting only what looks to be perfectly good and specific items.
From farm to farm, the chefs realized there were more than enough items that would overwise go wasted for them to use. During one particular visit to a farm, the first visual shown was that of a mountainous pile of tomatoes. According to the farmer, all of those tomatoes were going to be thrown away because of the dark lines on them due to falling to the ground. They were great quality tomatoes, but since they were not “perfect,” he could not sell them. He also added that around 60% of all grown vegetables at his and other farms were wasted because of the bad reputation blemished produce has received.
After watching this late night special, I was in shock. Why does so much food go wasted? Could there really be that vast amount of wasted food on a daily basis? And if so, why are there still starving people in the United States and around the world? There is obviously more than enough food to go around and that food can and should be donated to homeless shelters and food pantries.
There has to be a solution to this problem.
Although I personally do not have a solution to this mess, I did come to the conclusion that Americans are demanding consumers and need to change their thought process on what looks like tainted food. For the most part, this food is perfectly healthy and usable and is only going to be cut up, cooked and never to be seen again.
Not only is this affecting farmer’s, but it is also affecting grocery stores, creating a large loss in profit. Because stores and farmers are forced into throwing away meats, cheeses and vegetables, to name a few, they are losing a large amount of revenue. Food waste should not play such a large role in what these businesses spend their money on.
The only advice I have to famers and business owners is education. By educating the population on the problem of food waste, there could be more of an impact and less of a problem. Most people believe if the food has blemishes, it is bad and unhealthy to consume. By handing out fliers, creating more television shows and reaching out to the public, grocery stores and farmers could come away with more money and less waste.