What a waste: Jonathan Bloom wants the US to reduce its food waste problem
Jonathan Bloom, author of , wants everyone to know that is a growing problem in the United States that impacts both food security and the environment. But he doesn鈥檛 want to beat people over the head with his appeal for people to stop wasting food.
His blog, , covers everything related to food waste, from the role that consumers and restaurants play to productive ways that people can use . He even what their favorite food waste related songs are. His is the .
鈥淚n my blog I try not to be too heavy handed,鈥� he explained in a recent interview. 鈥淚 want to communicate to people that everyone has a role in reducing food waste, so that I can spread the word and so that people who read the blog start changing their behavior, and hopefully their efforts start rubbing off on other people.鈥�
Mr. Bloom began researching food waste in 2005 after doing volunteer work at the , an experience that awakened him to the impact of food waste.
鈥淥n a fundamental level it doesn鈥檛 make sense to me that we waste so much food when so many other people have trouble getting food,鈥� he emphasizes. 鈥淭here is a fundamental incongruity in that, which needs to be addressed,鈥� he says. He estimates that as much as of the food we bring into our homes is wasted. The (FAO) reports that an estimated one-third of the food produced worldwide for human consumption is wasted annually.
鈥淥n the big picture level, the biggest challenge is to get people to see that food waste is a problem,鈥� Mr. Bloom continues. 鈥淔or so long it has been seen as the cost of doing business and families have seen food waste as something that just happens.鈥�
Mr. Bloom says that there is a significant opportunity for households to reduce their food waste.聽 But he points out that getting consumers to change their behavior continues to be an uphill battle.
鈥淕etting people to step back and see food waste for what it is and then change their behavior is a challenge because it means getting people to buy less food, which is easier said than done,鈥� he explains.
In addition to its impact on food security, food waste also has consequences for the environment. In the United States more than of food is wasted annually. Much of this food waste ends up in landfills, where it produces methane, a greenhouse gas more than as potent as carbon dioxide. Mr. Bloom hopes that his blog will help others think about food waste in environmental terms.
鈥淣inety-seven percent of food waste ends up in landfills, where it is harmful to the environmental because it produces methane,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 try to get people to divert food waste away from landfills by whatever means they can.鈥� He suggests donating leftover food to , which have recently been reporting a , or using food waste for .
Food waste, which has increased since 1974, also comes at a significant economic cost. The average family of four throws out an estimated . 聽US supermarkets throw away around of food every day. Mr. Bloom, who gives talks to chefs and restaurant servers, says that while it鈥檚 easy for restaurants to understand the economic cost of food waste, there remains pressure to get customers to order .
鈥淭here is a little bit of tension when I talk about getting consumers not to waste food. If you are a server that would mean encouraging people to buy less food,鈥� which would mean a smaller bill and less tips. 鈥淢ost chefs don鈥檛 want their food to be thrown out. My job is to communicate to them the ethical, environmental, and economic costs of food waste,鈥� he says.
Through his work on American Wasteland and his blog, Mr. Bloom has noticed that more people are starting to understand why food waste is a problem.
鈥淚 have seen a shift in the way that food waste is being discussed,鈥� he noted. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a long time coming, but people are starting to realize that something must be done to address the fact that so much food is wasted.鈥�
鈥� Graham Salinger is a research intern for the Nourishing the Planet project.
鈥� first appeared at , a blog published by the .
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