A Wasteful America

A Wasteful America

            Growing up, my parents and grandparents would always remind us to be grateful for the food provided and to always eat everything on the plate. Luckily, food portions were smaller in those days. I didn’t  know it then, but they were trying to teach us not to be wasteful of food. They understood the value of food, the value of leftovers. And boy did they love leftovers! I can remember my grandparents telling us that if we dare go back for a second helping, we had sure better eat every last piece on that plate since there were starving people all over the world and it would be wrong to waste food just because our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. We also were not allowed to leave the table until they examined the plate, the floor, the napkin, the dog’s food bowl or any other hiding place we may have found because our eyes were definitely bigger than our stomachs! Times have certainly changed and it seems as though America doesn’t value food as we once did.

            Did you know that millions of pounds of perfectly good food are being thrown away right now and I can’t help but wonder, why? Statistics show that the U.S is one of the world’s most wasteful societies, wasting 10 times the amount of food than Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia in a year’s time (Unwire). I can’t seem to wrap my head around what a wasteful nation we have become. What’s even more astonishing is that as we waste this perfectly good food, millions of people are going hungry. With the amount of food that is being thrown out, we shouldn’t have one hungry person in the world. The numbers are astronomical; 34 million tons of food waste was generated in 2010, nationwide food waste totaled $43 billion a year, over half of all food produced goes to waste, and the average American household throws away about 470 pounds of food a year (Pierce). When did it become acceptable to become so wasteful? As an American, I say it’s time to make changes; changes that will not only help feed the hungry but changes that will also help save our environment. There are some people out there trying to make a change, but it will take all of us to really make it effective.

            Dumpster divers, also known as freegans, are people trying to make a political statement by saving perfectly good food from reaching the landfill, which in return will help save the environment. Now I’m sure dumpster diving doesn’t sound very appetizing and of course it isn’t for everyone, but if you can get past the mental part of diving, there is plenty of good food to be saved. Let me give you another mental picture that might make dumpster diving more appealing. With everyday life happening, we often don’t think twice about where our trash ends up. Sure we know it goes to the landfill but what we aren’t thinking about is how much food waste is actually going there and ultimately damaging our environment. The EPA reported in 2010 that 33 million tons of food waste was sent to the landfill (Unwire). Did you know that as we waste food and send it to the landfill we are helping to increase global warming. Rotting food is quite toxic. It releases Methane, a potent greenhouse gas that has 20 times the warming potential as carbon dioxide (Unwire).

Now having this information, I also feel it necessary to tell you that while garbage is garbage, hitting the right dumpster on the right night makes it a little less of the gross factor when dumpster diving. If you chose to become part of the political stance, there are a few rules that divers follow. Through social networking, divers notify each other of full dumpsters and the best times to go diving (McElroy). When one dives, they take only what they need and always clean up behind themselves, sometimes leaving the dumpster cleaner than what it was before they arrived (McElroy). You should also be careful of the no trespassing signs and always avoid locked dumpsters (McElroy). As you can see, there is certain etiquette to follow.

I understand that dumpster diving isn’t for everyone, but I firmly believe that everyone should do their part in trying to save perfectly good food. Americans has never been as wasteful as we are today. If we all followed the advice of our parents and grandparents by eating what we put on the plate and saving the rest for left overs, then in a small way we are helping. I think taking small steps start at home and will eventually spread. Just imagine the difference we could make if everyone in the world started this small step. We have the opportunity to make a difference and become the America that values food again. Let’s not take it for granted.