Course: WVA 103 Fermentation Methods

Reading

(1/2)
Ugly Fruit and Wasted Food

In this reading assignment, students will read about the prevalence of waste in the food system. The majority of unsold produce is not used for canned goods or processed foods due to large processors that require standardized product specifications. Fruits and vegetables are being thrown away before they reach the supermarket’s shelves to ensure customers only see fruits and vegetables with perfect or near perfect shape, size, and color. Transporting food from farms consumes 10 percent of the total U.S. energy budget, uses 50 percent of U.S. land, and 80 percent of all freshwater consumed in the United States. However, 40 percent of food in the United States today goes uneaten. Americans throw out the equivalent of $165 billion each year, additionally the uneaten food ends up in landfills as the single largest component of U.S. municipal solid waste, accounting for a large portion of U.S. methane emissions. Reducing food losses by just 15 percent would be enough food to feed more than 25 million Americans every year at a time when one in six Americans lack a secure supply of food to their tables. Students are asked to read the following information regarding food waste.

Click here to access web article Is There a Business Case for Selling Ugly Fruit and Vegetables? on the Triple Pundit website.

Click here to access Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill from the National Resources Defense Council.