To meet the needs of growing population, there is increase in food demand. We throw food as a waste. About 25 to 30% food is water. As foods are organic in nature and decompose easily. So it may not be an environmental problem. But as, uneven distribution, some part of the world is deficient and is a big problem.
It is a social or Environmental problem?
Wasteage of food is an environmental or social problem?
Food wasteage is both an environmental problem as well as a social problem.
(1) Environmental problem: The inputs to produce food have appreciable impacts on their respective agricultural ecosystems and ramifications for the surrounding environment (e.g., waterways, wetlands, and other ecosystems). The disposal of the food wastes requires energy and can be detrimental to the system into which they are disposed, if not handled properly.
(2) Social problem: The culture in which food is being used has developed certain practices (i.e., storage, preparation, and consumption of food). Generally these procedures (developed over long periods of time) tend to stay the same, regardless of their effects on the environment. Social habits change slowly, if at all, especially with respect to food.
I think wastage of food is a social phenomenon that causes environmental problems. Please follow the below given link and PDF attachments.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316547640_Food_Waste_Impacts_on_Climate_Change_Water_Resources
Wasteage of food is an environmental or social problem?
Food wasteage is both an environmental problem as well as a social problem.
(1) Environmental problem: The inputs to produce food have appreciable impacts on their respective agricultural ecosystems and ramifications for the surrounding environment (e.g., waterways, wetlands, and other ecosystems). The disposal of the food wastes requires energy and can be detrimental to the system into which they are disposed, if not handled properly.
(2) Social problem: The culture in which food is being used has developed certain practices (i.e., storage, preparation, and consumption of food). Generally these procedures (developed over long periods of time) tend to stay the same, regardless of their effects on the environment. Social habits change slowly, if at all, especially with respect to food.
In my opinion also, wastage of food can be considered as both environmental and social problem.
Of course if it is Environmental problem, it will be also Social problem.
wasting food is human crisis behave and effect environment, no doubt
Its more related with human behaviour, government should link with social crime to control it.
I agree with Prof Kenneth, I think priority should be given to human beings. Across the Globe people are starving and struggling for their livelihood.
Wastage of food is both an environmental as well as social problem.
First it is social problem then it becomes environmental problem.
Dr. Kenneth M Towe is right to some extent. If heterotrophs are available, food is not wasted. In forest and other such habitats million tons of food is produced and consumed by various animals, but we never termed that as wastage.
Food wastage under discussion here, is food produced and consumed by human beings.
Hi,
With millions of people all over the world struggling to find enough food to eat, the fact that millions of tons of food is tossed out every year can be surprising. But it is true. Food waste is a huge problem in developed countries and it is a serious economic and environmental issue.
According to the New York Times, 60 million metric tons of food is wasted every year in the United States alone. This is worth about $162 billion of food. 32 million metric tons end up in landfills which cost local governments $1.52 billion.
However, this problem is not isolated in the United States. Every year, approximately $400 billion worth of food is wasted.
Not only is that money wasted, but that food also could have gone to people in need. The food waste from retailers and consumers in developed countries is more than enough to feed the world's 870 food insecure people. The problem is expected to grow worse unless effort is made to change this. By 2030, the total cost of food waste could be as high as $600 billion.
Not only is this an economic problem, but it is also an environmental problem. The food wasted took resources to make. It used up huge amounts of water, land, and fertilizer only to be tossed in a landfill. The food in landfills decomposes and emits methane, a poisonous greenhouse gas. Globally, methane gas from food waste makes up seven percent of total greenhouse emissions. If the food had been composted properly, it would have emitted carbon dioxide, which is a less potent greenhouse gas.
It is important to cut down on food waste for both the economy and the environment. When shopping, buy "ugly" produce, or produce that most likely won't be bought by anyone else. Also check food for bad smells or signs of mold before throwing it away instead of looking at the expiration date, which doesn't indicate food safety but just an estimate of when the food quality starts going down. But also make sure to compost food scraps instead of throwing it away. Composting can be used to enhance the soil for your lawn and gardens, and it will reduce the amount of methane gas emitted from food waste.
Hunger, malnutrition and others in that category are more of social and psychological problem to the affected, the society and to the sympathizers. Environment is less affected as food remnants are biodegradable and sometimes add to soil nutrients. So I will say wastage of food is social problem and not environmental.
It is a socio-environmental problem actually, harming both the society and the environment in several ways and extremely detrimental.
The problem of throwing some food or leftovers as a waste found as a wrong behavioral and social habits in some countries, while there are famines in other countries. I think wasteage of food is a social problem with environmental implications.
Wastage of food is a serious problem with far reaching consequences that are not just social or environmental but both and more. It also has negative implications for our food culture, economy, food science and technology as well as the agricultural sector as a whole.
We must intensify postharvest technologies in particular to curb food wastage. I have a chapter addresing this important issue which is due for publication soon. Kind regards
Is an interconnected problem between the environmental and social aspects of the interdependence of the causative factors.
Environmental problems ..
1. Air pollution
2- Water pollution
3. Global warming,
4. Population explosion
5. Increase the volume of waste
6. Climate change
7. Lack of biodiversity
8. Deforestation
9-Acid rain
10. GMO foods
11. Natural disasters
12. Nuclear dangers
Wastage of food problem is a consumer habit and social problem in some societies. States and NGOs intervene in reducing it before it becomes an environmental problem
Wastage of food is (1) a time problem (life of food edible by humans), (2) a localization problem (where is the uneaten edible food at the time where it is still usable), (3) a transportation problem (how to get food to those who want and need it), (4) storage problem, (5) distribution problem,(6) residuals after eating and a second waste disposal issue of unconsumed food/water after consumption.
Dennis
Dennis Mazur
Humanistic approaches by society, government, to solve the social and environmental issue of food wastage and philanthropic efforts could help to reduce this practice and provide that extra food to those who are in need. It is every citizen obligation to play their role to eliminate this sensitive issue completely. It is possible!
Wasting food is a criminal habit. It is a resource to be valued as much as one values gold, money and other things. Any crime is a social problem. This social problem of wasting food also leads to environmental issues such as landfill space, diseases, green hosue gas emission, etc.
It is a human problem. In the world there are millions of people suffering from hunger, it is a crime against humanity to waste food.
I think wastage of food is both an environmental and social problem which will cause economic problems too.
It is an environmental because producing the food affects the environment and if we don't waste and consume less, the negative effects of food production on environment will decrease.
It is a social issue because it is related to people's habits regarding food process, transportation, distribution, storage and etc. If we don't change our habits wisely in a way to reduce and eliminate food wastage, we are causing the continual of injustice in food distribution.
Unjust distribution of resources (food) and environmental issues both impose economic burden on societies, which in turn worsen the social and environmental problems, and finally create an incremental cycle of problems.
It is both Environmental and Social. This has been very clearly explained by Dr. Rogers. World Water Day Theme of 2012 was "Water and Food Security", highlighting the importance and inter-relationship of FOOD & WATER.
Statistics say that each of us drink from 2 to 4 litres of water every day, however most of the water we ‘drink’ is embedded in the food we eat: producing 1 kilo of beef for example consumes 15,000 litres of water while 1 kilo of wheat ’drinks up’ 1,500 litres. When a billion people in the world already live in chronic hunger and water resources are under pressure we cannot pretend the problem is ‘elsewhere’. It is stated that 30% of the food produced worldwide is never eaten and the water used to produce it is definitively lost!
for me i believe its both, environmental because it will be finally dump indiscriminately in our environment forming hazard to life. on the other hand a social problem because many are looking for the food to eat without getting one is been wasted by some people making it a social problem too.
We have the lust feelings for different item of food when we visit market at the time when we buy, but have no power to consume well in time resultantly becomes stale or these items when we store for many hours in a Cool environment also becom rotten and thus it can not be use then as healthy food. On one side it no more a healthy food to be used due to changes in its environmental composition and on other hand due to these changes and plenty quantity make the rich consumer compelled to waste it. Lest the poor collect the waste food items from heaps mostly observed. So it is more of social than environmental problem. (Feed back please)
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