With the abundance of variety of food around the world, it is indeed becoming increasingly common for people to waste large amounts of food in many parts of the world on a daily basis. While this new development will certainly lead to some serious problems, in my view, steps can certainly be taken by governments to overcome the growing issue of food waste.
There are several reasons related to why many people are wasting food. Chief among them is that people have become wealthier than before, meaning that they now have immense access, even for people from middle-class backgrounds, to buy a variety of produce from supermarkets or stores. As a result of this, they may stop storing food at their home or appreciating its value, such as vegetables, meat, or fish; instead, they tend to throw away edible meals, discarding a large amount of food day by day. Another reason is associated with growing competition among food campaigns. In other words, as competition rises, most campaigns are producing more food than the consumers demand, offering a variety of choices at very reasonable prices in the hope of attracting more consumers. Consequently, consumers may start to take food for granted and are likely to waste it, or the produce can be spoiled if it is not sold for a long time.
However, I firmly believe that the growing problem of food waste on a large scale can be effectively tackled by governments in several ways. One of the most important actions the government can take is to run public awareness campaigns that educate and warn people about wasting food and its negative outcomes through TV or social media. By explaining the economic and environmental negative consequences of discarding food—with the former bringing about financial challenges for campaigns since food production requires money, and the latter ruining the beauty of nature and requiring more landfill—they can change individuals’ mindsets towards food. Severe taxes on campaigns that produce excessive amounts of meat beyond consumers’ needs, leading to discarding, and encouraging food campaigns to donate leftover but eatable food, for example, to orphanages, nursing homes, or financially struggling families, are another two ways to reduce food waste.
In conclusion, although food discarding stems from a number of factors, especially in terms of increased wealth allowing easier access to a variety of foods and rising competition among businesses, I believe these problems can be effectively addressed by governments through public awareness campaigns, putting strict taxes on overproduction, and encouraging food donations.