Food Waste： A Growing Problem 舌尖上的浪費

By+Clare+Knutson+&+Rachel+Sun

據統計，全球每年浪費的食物達到13萬億噸，占全球每年生產的食物總量的三分之一。我國每年在餐桌上浪費的食物價值約合2000億元，相當于兩億多人一年的口糧，每年在餐桌外浪費的食物價值也高達750億元。這些數字令人觸目驚心，因此造成的資源浪費與環境破壞也令人痛惜。那造成食物浪費的原因是什么？食物浪費的嚴重后果有哪些？有無可行的解決方案？我們一起來了解。

When it comes to preserving food and reducing its waste， America is not the country paving the path， as $165 billion worth of food is being thrown out annually. The United States per capita food waste has increased almost 50 percent since 1974.

Multiple factors come into question when asking why Americans are so wasteful， ranging from produce not looking as aesthetically pleasing as the rest to ignorance on the accuracy of sell-by dates.

Not only is it wasteful to needlessly throw out food， it can also be costly to our environment and economy. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council， the process of getting food from the farms to our plates requires 10 percent of Americas total energy budget， makes up 80 percent of freshwater consumption in America and consumes 50 percent of Americas land. Yet， 40 percent of the food produced ends up in landfills.

It is predicted that by 2025， the world population will have increased from roughly 7 billion to around 8 billion. And while the population increase will be seen mostly in developing countries， it still poses an important question for all nations： “How will we feed all those people？”

Today， about one-sixth of the American population live in food-insecure households， meaning that families have to decide between buying food and other basic necessities. And yet， despite this deficit， the nation is still faced with the problem of overproduction of food， a large majority of which will be thrown out. There are families out there who are scrambling for food and yet there are families throwing whole bags of lettuce and fresh vegetables and fruits out.

However， its not just food that is being wasted when it is thrown out. The oil lost in the production of food that ends up in a landfill is 70 times greater than the amount lost in the Deepwater Horizon disaster of 20101）.

It is estimated that reducing food waste by 15 percent would feed roughly 25 million Americans， while easing the environmental impacts. But to effectively reduce waste， it is necessary to improve preservation of the food and educate people and businesses on how to best avoid wastage.

Various factors come into question when discussing why food waste has augmented2） so much in the last few years. One of the many reasons is that consumers are attracted to aesthetically pleasing fruits and vegetables. When a fruit or vegetables appearance isnt held up to the normal standardized conditions， consumers often ostracize3） it because they believe there is something wrong with it.

“We have an industrialized food system where the fruits and vegetables that we grow have to be a certain shape and size in order to be whats considered marketable，” Farm Educator for the Abundant Table Erynn Smith says. “A lot of perfectly good fruits and vegetables unfortunately waste in the seals4） because they arent able to get a good enough price because theyre not the shape and size theyre supposed to be.”

The United States Department of Agriculture has a grading scale; if a fruit or vegetable doesnt match the criteria， it loses two-thirds of its market value to a farmer. If its not seen as profitable， farmers often discard it.

Smith believes that if consumers were to alter their demands of products， that would affect what farmers are growing.

“We live in a consumer culture where consumers drive the market，” she says. “Because we are accustomed to seeing huge apples or perfectly large sized lettuces， we dont want to choose anything that isnt deemed quote unquote5） perfect.

“Thats driving what farmers are able to grow and sell， so if we were able to change our consumer culture and educate ourselves as consumers that taste is not necessarily tied to size or shape， then we would be able to demand differently and that would affect what farmers are growing.”

Besides the beauty aspect of it， ignorance of sell-by dates is another factor contributing to the increase of food waste in landfills.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council， nine out of ten consumers have at one point thrown out food that has passed its sell-by date， fearing its safety. However， as sell-by date labels arent regulated by the federal government， except for baby formulas， its accuracy is not as official as one might believe.

Sell-by dates are rarely ever exact and almost none reflect the safety of their content. Theyre merely suggestions from the manufacturers of when the product will be at its peak quality.

“There are actually dedicated websites that basically say that industries put the sell-by dates on products so that consumers will buy more， ” says health teacher Kurt Miller. “The sell-by dates are so short so as to increase the amount of products that consumers are buying. […] Now， of course there are a lot of foods that you certainly need to be more careful of like dairy and meats.”

Lastly， one of the biggest contributors to food waste is simply the fact that businesses and markets throw away leftover food when stores close rather than donating it to shelters for the homeless.

Due to the increase of food waste in landfills， a number of long-term consequences have appeared. One of the most dangerous ones is the release of methane6） gas.

Food lying beneath piles of waste is kept in an anaerobic7） state for lengthy periods of time and it decomposes without air. As a result， that airless setting releases methane， a greenhouse gas that traps heat.

Methane gas is dangerous in that if it is released into the atmosphere before being used， it absorbs the suns heat and warms the Earth. This can have a devastating impact on our climate as it is extremely effective in absorbing and trapping heat.

According to End Hunger， landfills are the greatest providers of human-related methane gas source. They account for nearly 34 percent of methane emissions.

Another consequence of food waste that future generations will encounter is a shortage of water and land resources. According to the Farmland Information Center， 40.8 percent of America is covered in farmland. The agricultural sector consumes approximately 70 percent of the worlds storage of freshwater， on a global scale.

“Were definitely going to see a depletion8） of resources for sure if people are going to keep throwing away food which hasnt gone bad or buying too much food，” Holmes says. “Its definitely going to be detrimental9） to future generations because if we dont watch what we throw away and how much were using our resources， then were really just being ignorant and not choosing to care about or respect our earth.”

The problem with food wastage is not one that can be corrected over the course of a few days， months or years. The U.S Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency announced that for the first time there will be a national target for reducing food waste.

In Seattle， citizens are fined for not sorting through their trash and recyclables. Massachusetts has begun to place food waste bans on schools and businesses. There is legislation that will increase tax deduction10） for businesses that donate surplus food.

The goal of the movement is not to force citizens to throw out less food， but to change the culture surrounding it. Such measures are aimed at educating the public and changing the mindset to one that is “sensitive” to food waste， while reaping the environmental and economic benefits at the same time.

Many stores are making the decision to sell produce that is perfectly fine in quality， but not quite as visually appealing. However， the rules regarding food safety are not as clear as they could be.

Holmes thinks that people will also need to learn the difference between sell-by dates （the suggested date for peak freshness） and expiration dates （the date passed which foods are no longer safe to eat）.

“Learning the difference between an expiration date and a sell-by date is definitely important because some people will see the sell-by date and deem it unacceptable to eat after it has passed its sell-by date，” Holmes said.

Identifying which foods are wasted most often and why， in both businesses and at home， is key to keeping food from piling up in landfills.

“If you saw what a massive landfill looked like and if you saw all of the environmental and social impacts of landfills， you might be less likely to choose things that actually end up filling up our landfills. I think we all need to be responsible for recognizing and understanding the impacts of our choices，” Smith says.

說起保存食物和減少食物浪費，美國并未為此做好準備，因為在美國每年被扔掉的食物價值高達1650億美元。自1974年以來，美國人均食物浪費量幾乎增長了50%。

要問美國人為什么如此浪費，那有諸多因素值得思量，比如有些農產品外觀不如其他的養眼，再比如消費者不知道最遲銷售日期的準確度，等等。

不必要地扔食物不僅會造成浪費，而且還會使我們的環境和經濟付出高昂的代價。據美國自然資源保護委員會稱，食物從農場到餐盤的過程需要消耗的能源占美國能源總預算的10%，用水占美國淡水消耗量的80%，用地占美國土地資源的50%。然而，生產出來的食物中卻有40%最終進了垃圾填埋場。

到2025年，世界人口預計將從約70億增長到近80億。盡管人口增長將主要發生在發展中國家，但還是向所有國家拋出了一個重要問題：“我們該如何養活所有這些人？”

目前，約有六分之一的美國人生活在食物無法得到保障的家庭中，這意味著這些家庭不得不在購買食物與購買其他生活必需品之間做出取舍。然而，即便存在這樣食物不足的情況，美國卻還面臨著食物生產過剩的問題，而大多數過剩食物都會被扔掉。有家庭正在爭著獲取食物，而另外一些家庭卻在扔掉整包的生菜、新鮮蔬菜和水果。

然而，扔掉食物浪費的不僅僅是食物本身。生產那些最終進了垃圾填埋場的食物所損耗的石油，比2010年墨西哥灣“深水地平線”鉆井平臺漏油事件所損失的石油要高出70倍。

據估算，食物浪費若減少15%，不僅可以減輕對環境的影響，還能養活約2500萬美國人。但要真正有效地減少浪費，就必須提高食物保存技術，并讓民眾和商家了解如何最大限度地避免浪費。

要討論食物浪費在過去幾年為何增長如此迅猛，就要考慮多方面的因素。其中一個就是消費者鐘情于品相好的水果和蔬菜。如果一個水果或一棵蔬菜的外觀不符合通常的標準條件，消費者往往就會排斥它，因為他們認定它有問題。

“我們有一套工業化的食品體系。在這個體系中，我們種植的水果和蔬菜必須符合一定的形狀和大小，以達到銷售標準。”來自“豐富的餐桌”組織的農業教育者伊瑞恩·史密斯說，“很多非常好的水果和蔬菜都浪費在了密封袋里，只因它們的形狀和大小不符合預期，無法賣到一個好價錢。這非常可惜。”

美國農業部有一個分級量表。如果一個水果或一棵蔬菜沒有達到標準，對農民來說，它就失去了三分之二的市場價值。農民如果認為它不盈利，往往就會丟棄它。

史密斯認為，如果消費者能夠改變自身對于農產品的要求，那么這將會對農民種什么產生影響。

“在我們所處的消費文化中，市場由消費者驅動，”她說，“由于我們習慣了看到大個兒的蘋果和大棵的生菜，所以我們就不想選擇任何不被視為‘完美的東西。

“而這推動著農民可以種什么和銷售什么。因此，如果我們能夠改變我們的消費文化，作為消費者能讓自己明白，味道并非一定與大小和形狀相關，那我們就會產生不同的需求，進而對農民種什么產生影響。”

除了品相方面的問題，導致垃圾填埋場里的食品廢棄物增加的另一個原因是對最遲銷售日期的無知。

據美國自然資源保護協會稱，90%的消費者都曾因為擔心安全問題而將超過最遲銷售日期的食物扔掉。然而，除了嬰兒配方奶粉，其他食品的最遲銷售日期標簽并不受聯邦政府的規范管理，因此其精確度并不像人們所認為的那樣具有權威性。

最遲銷售日期極少是精確的，幾乎沒有一個能夠反映食物的安全性。它們只是生產商對于產品處于最佳質量的時間說明而已。

“事實上，一些專業網站基本認為，企業在產品上標明最遲銷售日期只是為了讓消費者購買更多產品，”健康教師庫爾特·米勒說，“最遲銷售日期非常短，那是為了增加消費者購買產品的數量。[……]當然，現在有很多種食物你需要多加小心，比如乳制品和肉類。”

最后，導致食物浪費的最為重要的原因之一是，商家和市場在結束營業以后會把剩余的食物扔掉，而不是捐給收容所。

由于垃圾填埋場里的食品廢棄物不斷增多，很多有著長遠影響的后果顯現了出來，其中最危險的后果之一就是甲烷氣體的釋放。

堆積在層層垃圾下面的食物長期處在與氧氣隔絕的狀態，并在無空氣的狀態下進行分解。因此，這種不通氣的環境會釋放出甲烷——一種可以鎖住熱量的溫室氣體。

甲烷的危害在于，如果其在沒使用之前就被釋放到大氣中，它會吸收太陽光的熱量，讓地球變暖。這會給我們的氣候帶來毀滅性的影響，因為甲烷能夠十分有效地吸收和鎖住熱量。

據“終結饑餓”組織稱，垃圾填埋場是人為排放甲烷的最主要來源，其排放量占到甲烷排放總量的近34%。

食物浪費使我們未來的子孫后代面臨的另一個后果是水資源和土地資源的短缺。據農田信息中心稱，美國40.8%的領土被農田覆蓋。從全球范圍來看，農業部門消耗的淡水約占世界淡水儲量的70%。

“如果人們繼續把那些還沒變質的食物扔掉或者購買太多食物，我們以后肯定會遭遇資源枯竭，”霍爾姆斯說，“這對子孫后代而言有百害而無一利，因為如果我們繼續無視我們扔掉的食物和我們消耗的資源數量，那我們就真是無知，沒有選擇關愛和尊重我們的地球。”

食物浪費帶來的問題并非幾天、幾個月或幾年就能糾正的。美國農業部和國家環境保護局宣布將會首次確立一個減少食物浪費的全國性目標。

在西雅圖，市民如果不對垃圾和可回收利用物品進行分類將會被罰款。馬薩諸塞州已經開始針對學校和商家頒布食物浪費禁令。還有立法規定將會給捐獻剩余食物的商家增加免稅額。

這項運動的目的不是強迫公民少扔食物，而是改變與之緊密相連的文化。這些舉措旨在教育公眾，使之轉變觀念，變得對食物浪費“敏感”，同時也收獲環境和經濟效益。

很多商店都決定銷售那些品質優良但是品相不夠吸引人的農產品。然而，關于食品安全的法規還未做到盡可能的明確。

霍爾姆斯認為，人們還需要學習最遲銷售日期（產品新鮮程度處于最佳的建議日期）與保質期（超過該日期食用該產品有安全隱患）之間的區別。

“學習保質期與最遲銷售日期之間的區別絕對重要，因為有些人會查看最遲銷售日期，以為食物一旦過了最遲銷售日期就不能食用了。”霍爾姆斯說。

防止食物在垃圾填埋場里堆積如山的關鍵是確定哪些食物是商家和家庭最常浪費的，并找到浪費的原因。

“如果你曾目睹巨大的垃圾填埋場是什么樣子，如果你明白垃圾填埋場給環境和社會所帶來的所有影響，你也許就不會去選購那些最終會被填埋在垃圾場里的東西了。我認為我們每個人都有責任認識和了解自己的選擇會產生怎樣的影響。”史密斯說。

1. Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010：指的是2010年4月20日，英國石油公司在美國墨西哥灣租用的鉆井平臺“深水地平線”發生爆炸，導致大量石油泄漏，釀成一場經濟和環境慘劇。

2. augment [??ɡ?ment] vt. 擴大，增加，增長

3. ostracize [??str?sa?z] vt. 排斥，擯棄

4. seal [si?l] n. 密封袋，密封裝置

5. quote unquote：quote表示前引號，unquote表示后引號，兩者合用相當于“所謂的”的意思。

6. methane [?mi?θe?n] n. [化]甲烷，沼氣

7. anaerobic [??n??r??b?k] adj. 由無氧引起的，在缺氧的情況下生活（或發生）的

8. depletion [d??pli??（?）n] n. 耗盡，枯竭

9. detrimental [?detr??ment（?）l] adj. 有害的;不利的

10. deduction [d??d?k?（?）n] n. 扣除額，減除數