The increasing amount of food waste the world over has become a grave problem that needs to be addressed urgently. While there are a host of reasons contributing to this issue, I believe that there are a great number of feasible solutions to tackle it.
The growing amount of discarded food can be ascribed to the devaluation of food items, which roots from the improving living standards. Nowadays, food is not a rarity but rather something that exists in abundance in many countries, especially in developed ones. The proliferation of consumerism has led to a surplus of foodstuffs, which means that people do not see it as a survival necessity but as a form of entertainment. Old money and new money alike buy food without thinking about its use and their food consumption rate, and as a result, products that are not eaten must be discarded.
To address this problem, definite actions need to be taken. To start with, governments should raise consumer’s awareness on conscious consumption of food items. Citizens should be taught how not to overbuy and overconsume, and instead reuse leftovers or portion their meals accordingly. This could be aided by the use of educational television programs or community campaigns hosted by local authorities and institutions. Secondly, implementing a fine for households which discard food more than the average dumping rate. What the government can do is to introduce a reasonable quota of food waste that each individual can discharge and levy a tax on those who exceed their quota. The accumulated fine can be used to process garbage food.
In conclusion, while there are several reasons behind the waste of food, namely consumer’s depreciation and food surplus, this problem can be alleviated by applying suitable measures like enhancing conscious food consumption awareness and imposing fines on heavy dumpers.