Analysis: Jonathan Bloom's "American Wasteland"

This module was all about synthesizing ideas on related issues from inter-textual sources. For this analysis, we will be using the article "Critical Reading v. Critical Thinking Download Critical Reading v. Critical Thinking" and your textbook American Wasteland. https://learn(dot)maricopa(dot)edu/courses/1218815/files/82924287/download?wrap=1
Specifically, how well does the text do what it does.
a specific topic must be addressed
terms must be clearly defined
evidence must be presented
common knowledge must be accounted for
exceptions must be explained
causes must be shown to precede effects and to be capable of the effect
conclusions must be shown to follow logically from earlier arguments and evidence.
Pick a minimum of three (3) of the bullets to analyze how American Wasteland did or didn't do that concept.
Answer in complete sentences in paragraph form
Include a minimum of three (3) parenthetical citations (in-text citations)
The support citations may be from any chapter in American Wasteland.
use MLA format with a Work Cited page
“What can we do about food waste?”
Food waste is one of the most common and complex issues that is being discussed in the various spheres of society today. Food waste involves the total edible parts of the plants and animals that are produced for consumption, but they end up going to waste as they are not consumed by humans. However, it should be noted that there is no exact definition of food waste, but the food agriculture organization provided the commonly used definition. It was concluded that food waste is when the edible materials produced for human consumption are instead lost, destroyed or degraded, or eaten by the pests (Wajon and Richter 7). It can also refer to the loss of food at the different stages of the food supply chain. Some of these stages include the harvest, post-harvest, storage, processing, distribution, and then consumption. In all the above stages, food tends to be wasted. It should be noted that food waste involves the loss of food that was produced for human consumption but is then redirected to other uses such as bioenergy or feeding animals (Kennard 1). The extent to which people keep on wasting food has increased globally, and therefore, there is a need for a solution that can be used to reduce the wastage of food due to the various adverse effects involved.
It is important to understand how community members are participating in the efforts to address food wastage. Effective measures by consumers will have a significant impact on the food wastage problem. Therefore, individual efforts may appear negligible to the whole problem, but the combined effects may have a profound positive impact on the problem. The interview targets community members as they form part of the consumer group. The interviewee will be selected randomly from the streets and asked 10 questions which will be used as the basis for the solution of food wastage. The various responses by the interviewee will be researched further for their reliability and credibility, before being adopted as solutions for the food waste problem.
The interviewee believed that the food wastage problem keeps increasing despite the various efforts and programs in place. On the global scale, food wastage keeps rising and it is reached an extent where about 2.6 trillion dollars are lost as a result of food waste. More than 1.3 billion tons of bio-waste are collected due to an estimated one-third of food being wasted along the different stages of the supply chain. In Europe alone, the estimated amount of food that is believed to have been wasted in 2006 alone reached about 89 million tons, which is about 179 kg per capita. Around the world, the increased amount of food waste is expected in the developed countries, especially the European countries such as America, where the consumers are unconscious, and keepwasting food without any significant reasons (Kunszabo, Szakos, and Kasza 14). On the other hand, in developing countries where there are no modern ways of preserving the food for future consumption, poor infrastructures and lack better farming methods to preserve the food or prevent it from being eaten by pests, food wastage is minimal. There are different forms of food waste, including household waste, which contributes to the most significant percentage of the food wasted worldwide. The other form is the food processing food waste, the food production, and food service wastes, as well as the wholesale and retail wastes. The most discarded food is meals, and these contribute up to 40 percent of the food waste, followed by bakery products that contribute up to 20 percent of food waste. Other categories of food waste include fresh fruits and vegetables and these contribute a ratio of 17 percent to the food waste and many other kinds of foods such as dairy products and soft drinks. Food wastage differs from one country to another, and studies have concluded that this is linked to the relationship between a nation’s demographic characteristics and wasteful behavior (Kunszabo, Szakos, and Kasza 14-15).
Before focusing on developing the solution to food waste, it is significant to focus on the various effects of food waste. Despite the costs involved, as identified earlier, the food wastes cause the world to make a loss of about 2.6 trillion dollars, which shows the economic impact that the food waste has on the population. There are several other adverse effects associated with food waste. Food waste affects the environment in several ways; that is when the food is collected and disposed of in the landfills, and it tends to release the polluting gases and metals that are left in the soil or expend into the atmosphere, thus affecting the environment. It should be noted that food waste contributes about 8 percent of the global greenhouse gases that tend to affect and play a key role in climatic changes. Also, the food wastes are released into the water bodies, affecting the animals that live in the water bodies. It should be noted that even though the food wastes tend to decompose, but they release dangerous gases and metals that tend to stay in the environment for an extended period of time (Lins, Zandonadi, Raposo, and Ginani). It is important to note that socially, the food that is wasted can be used to feed part of the people who do not have food. Many people worldwide spend days without food, yet food in other countries is being wasted, which is not good. In other words, this can mean that the more the food is wasted, the more people who cannot afford food go without food (Lins, Zandonadi, Raposo, and Ginani).
According to the interviewee, the zero waste approach is the best solution to experiencing a significant impact on the food wastage problem. The solution can be adopted worldwide for better outcomes. The Zero waste approach follows five steps or deploys five strategies that can help with the reduction of food wastage or completely put it to an end. The first strategy is identified as rejection, and here is when one learns to say ‘No’ to the items they believe they would not consume (Seberini 6-7). People should be taught how to refuse the food products offered to them freely by companies, yet they are not going to consume them as these would be kept for future use or to help feed the part of the population that cannot afford the items. The second step is the reduction step, where people need to reduce the number of food items they tend to purchase; people around the world should be encouraged only to purchase the items they believe they would consume and finish rather than purchase them and throw them away. On the other hand, the food processing companies and restaurants should reduce the amount of food they offer consumers, such as food that goes to waste is reduced (Garcha 5). The other aspect of the zero-waste approach is the reuse stage, and this is where one is required to get the food products that have gone bad to serve a different functioning purpose. For example, one can get the seeds from the spoilt fruits and making them grow into other plants that can be used for future purposes. When something can not be reused, the zero-waste approach encourages recycling, where the food that is being thrown away can be collected and used to serve a different purpose (Seberini, 15). For example, the food that is spoilt instead of getting thrown away would be best if the food is collected and used to produce manure that would help grow other plants. Therefore, this would protect the environment as instead of throwing the food into the landfills and contaminating the air and water, and the soil, food is collected and taken to factories to produce manure. Ultimately, the one reason why this is the best practice for reducing food wastage is that the solution tends to play a role in mitigating each of the adverse effects caused by food waste. Although it is the best, there are other existing solutions that also play a crucial role in stopping food wastage.
Some of the other solutions include the extension of better farming methods in nations that tend to have poor farming methods and preservation, and thus the food goes to waste or is being eaten by the pests. The crops can be protected from being consumed by the pests with better farming methods. Even though this would be a solution to the issue of food waste, it should be noted that having better farming methods would mitigate the consumer’s wasteful behaviors. On the other hand, with better ways of storing the goods or preserving the food, it would stay for longer days and for future use rather than being wasted. However, the only issue is that in some places, people tend to lack the ability and money to afford the different items such as refrigerators that can help preserve the food for a long time, especially the fruits and vegetables. Industries and the government should teach different people in communities and help them change their consumption behavior by not buying products that they would not consume and ensure they purchase those they are to consume and finish without wasting any of the products (Garcia-Garcia, Woolley, and Rahimifarda, 433). Socially, people should also be encouraged to provide the food they do not intend to consume to other community members who cannot afford food. Instead of wasting the food, it can be fed to the animals who later on also provide more food that is consumed by the people rather than throwing the food in the landfills, which tends to lead to various environmental problems as a result of emitting of the greenhouse gases into the atmosphere (Garcia-Garcia, Woolley, and Rahimifarda, 433).
In conclusion, food waste is a standard topic today. It has led to several adverse effects on the global economic aspects and has had an adverse effect on the environment and social settings. Food waste has become a common issue today. People tend to unconsciously waste food that is meant for human consumption by throwing it away or left to be destroyed by the pests and animals. Yet other people around the world would consume the food. It is important to note that there is no exact definition of food waste, but it mainly involves the destruction or loss of food meant for human consumption. People around have increasingly destroyed food, and the fact that about 1.3 million tons of food are wasted globally shows that this is not a minor issue and, therefore, there is a need for a solution. The best solution would be the promotion of the zero-food waste approach as it has stages through which the wastage of food can be reduced, including the reduction, rejection, reuse, and recycling stages. All the above aspects can solve the issue by reducing the various adverse effects of food waste.
Works Cited
Garcha, Neetu. Food Loss and Waste Solutions Innovative Technologies and Best Practices. (2017).
Garcia-Garcia, G., Woolley, E., and Rahimifard. Optimising industrial food waste management. Procedia Manufacturing, 8, 432-439. (2017).
Kennard, Nicole Josiane. "Food waste management." Zero Hunger (2019): 355-370.
Kunszabó, Atilla & Szakos, Dávid & Kasza, Gyula. Food waste - a general overview and possible solutions. 28. 14-19. (2019).
Lins, Maísa, et al. "Food waste on foodservice: an overview through the perspective of sustainable dimensions." Foods 10.6 (2021): 1175.
Seberini, Andrea. "Economic, social and environmental world impacts of food waste on society and Zero waste as a global approach to their elimination." SHS Web of Conferences. Vol. 74. EDP Sciences, 2020.
Wajon, Eline, and Johanna Richter. "Students’ Intention to Reduce Food Waste: An approach with an extended version of the Theory of Planned Behavior." (2019).
Interview Questions
Target Population: Consumers within the local community
Selection of interviewee- Random selection.
Questions
Are you a local or a visitor in the community?
How would you explain food wastage based on your own words and understanding?
What are some of the strategies you have seen around the community that mitigate food wastage?
What are the strategies you believe works the best in minimizing food wastage?
Do you participate in food wastage programs or activities? YES NO
Do you believe food wastage is a serious problem that all people should be involved to address it? Why?
What is the one solution you believe will have a significant impact on food wastage?
What are some of the effects of food wastages?
Do you think addressing food wastage will solve world hunger problem?
What are your final thoughts on food wastage?
Thank you for participation.
Interviewee Responses
I am a local community member.
Fod wastage is the excessive consumption of food than that required which leads to wastage.
Stores and food businesses offering food that is about to expire to the vulnerable people in community, instead of waiting to expire and throw it away.
Personal choices towards minimizing food wastage
Yes, I do participate in food wastage prevention programs.
I do believe that if everyone took part in minimizing food wastage. We can solve some problems such as world hunger.
I have heard about the zero waste approach which includes all stakeholders in taking part to reduce food waste. The involvement of everyone in the program will help reduce food wastage significantly.
Funds wastage, environmental impacts through landfills, and increasing social problems such as hunger.
Solving food wastage will not solve world hunger but it will significantly reduce its prevalence.
I believe that food wastage continues to increase despite the various measures in place.