Food waste occurs in many parts of the world for various reasons. Overproduction and consumption on a household scale can be the primary causes of this tendency. This global issue can be eliminated by raising awareness about the scale of food waste and implementing regulations by the government.
Turning to the causes of food waste, there are several factors contributing to this phenomenon. Overproduction, a situation that usually happens when there is harvest available in much greater quantities, is the major reason why food is often wasted around the world. To be precise, farmers may overproduce to meet demand, earn more living or fulfil their contracts with landowners, which results in surplus food that goes unsold. As an example, there were many tonnes of watermelons produced in Uzbekistan last year, and many local people were not able to consume all of them, leaving the farmers an unstable source of income, with many watermelons going unsold with even significantly reduced prices. Another major reason for this trend is the people’s disproportionate intake. With improper storage and busy lifestyles, many people are simply unaware of the amount of waste and the environmental and economic consequences. All of these eventually lead to a larger scale of waste disposal, a trend often observed in areas where far richer households live.
To solve such an urgent problem, a multi-approach is needed, which involves changes in different aspects of food production. Firstly, probably the most important action, the government have to introduce a couple of programs and regulations regarding food waste reduction targets. In this case, setting national and local food waste reduction targets can help minimize the amount of food wasted on a global scale. This, in turn, can be done with the help of regulations and incentives. For example, implementing rules that encourage businesses and households can reduce food waste, in the form of taxes on food waste disposal, in particular, or incentives for composting, a process in which a decayed organic material is used as a fertiliser for growing plants. Secondly, public awareness campaigns about the importance of food in different forms must be conducted to educate people about the impact of food waste and its both environmental and economic effects. Last but not least, proper storage has also a significant role to play in avoiding food waste. In other words, correctly-stored food extends its shelf life, the amount of time that a particular food is saved, thanks to the fridges that refrigerate perishables promptly.
To conclude, surplus food and the ignorance of people about the food they eat are the main reasons why food of any type is wasted worldwide. I believe that educatoin about the importance of food and strict regulations and incentives by the authority can effectively address this issue.