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Why we throw away more than 6M tonnes of groceries every year (2015)

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Re: Why we throw away more than 6M tonnes of groceries every year (2015)

#31

Post by Aelinsaar »

woodandsteel wrote: post #20

I think a large part of the reason people waste so much food is that the human mind was designed for a hunter-gatherer way of life. It's hard to get enough food that way, so people ate everything they got. But today we get our food at supermarkets full of far more than we need, and are encouraged in many subtle ways to do so. Also, I am thinking that if a food conservation movement started to get some real traction,…

Not to mention the minimal and subtle FUD that would be required, given how disgusted most of us are with the notion of spoiled and suspect food.

Re: Why we throw away more than 6M tonnes of groceries every year (2015)

#32

Post by afarrell »

samblr wrote: post #21

Nations should have mandatory farming practice for half a year or so like they have mandatory military service. I think such practice will be eye opening on how we treat food.

There are many reasons why this is a bad idea

- Because how do you house, feed, care for the health of, and train all of the people, while and keeping them from assaulting each other?

- Because then you would have a bunch of poorly-skilled uninterested people around dangerous machinery.

- Because there is not enough land for people to be employed productively in using modern farming techniques.

- Because forcing people to perform labor is generally frowned upon in our society.

Also see part II of http://slatestarcodex.com/2015/06/06/against-tulip-subsidies...

Re: Why we throw away more than 6M tonnes of groceries every year (2015)

#33

Post by lifeisstillgood »

So that's 6M tons by 300M people, or about 54 grams of waste per day per person

Include banana skins and so on and frankly it seems less wasteful than a natural Consequence of the very inefficient means of each family cooking its own meals instead of using a central cooking and queueing system.

I am not saying we are not wasting food, but it's not as if we are say, killing a mammoth and just cutting off the tasty bits

Re: Why we throw away more than 6M tonnes of groceries every year (2015)

#34

Post by Chronic9q »

sndean wrote: post #12

> Suddenly, for many Westerners, the problem with food was that there was too much of it. Whenever eating around some friends from South Asian countries who grew up just barely on the positive side of starving, I always make a point of eating everything on my plate (or all the meat off the bone). Because lots of times I've gotten the comment "you eat like a white person." But I wonder how much of that is cultural and…

>Because lots of times I've gotten the comment "you eat like a white person."

Is this seriously your reason? I can find someone to make a comment about you, for anything I choose. Just because someone says something doesn't mean you must please them.

Poorer communities say "you are wasting daylight" when you don't wake up before sunrise. Does that mean you should change your sleeping schedule?

Re: Why we throw away more than 6M tonnes of groceries every year (2015)

#35

Post by greenshackle »

geodel wrote: post #30
greenshackle wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How much time do you spend grocery shopping and cooking? If you make 100$ per hour it doesnt take long before eating out is more economical.

I think it also depends on if $100 / hr can be extended beyond 8 hrs /day and 5 days a week. Often those high rates are for 40 hrs per week. Any extra hrs are either part of fixed salary jobs or unfinished deliverables for whatever reasons.

However much you value your free time then. Which may actually be more than your regular hourly wage. Consider that most people need to be paid more to work overtime.

It also depends whether you consider cooking work or fun. Some people like doing it, others don't.

I don't make $100/hour and I do enjoy cooking, so I don't eat out that much, but I do believe for some people it makes perfect sense.

Re: Why we throw away more than 6M tonnes of groceries every year (2015)

#36

Post by mmagin »

samblr wrote: post #26
ftvbffg wrote: post #6

Food waste is very small problem. If it was eliminated there would be 1.5 times as much food. Bigger problem is eating out (restaurants, fast food) where 90% of money is wasted. Or buying expensive ingredients like meat or very processed foods. 10 times more food can be bought if choosing wisely. I pay maybe 4$-5$/day for food and I routinely throw away half. That's 2$/day wasted. But eating at restaurant wastes so m…

cannot agree more on eating out is such a burn or waste. 2 KFC meals = 12 kilos of rice or pasta = 50 meals at least ?

You need more than rice or pasta to survive.

Re: Why we throw away more than 6M tonnes of groceries every year (2015)

#37

Post by greenshackle »

djKianoosh wrote: post #22
greenshackle wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How much time do you spend grocery shopping and cooking? If you make 100$ per hour it doesnt take long before eating out is more economical.

but that equation doesnt take into account the enjoyment one gets from eating a fine meal at a restaurant or at home, or the quality of the food (perceived or actual) that one consumes. you may believe calories are calories regardless or you may not. so many more things factor into that equation. long term health (pro and con) for example.

Of course, there are so many factors to eating. I was responding narrowly to OP's claim that eating out is bad because it's expensive.

Re: Why we throw away more than 6M tonnes of groceries every year (2015)

#39

Post by bbcbasic »

greenshackle wrote: post #13
ftvbffg wrote: post #6

Food waste is very small problem. If it was eliminated there would be 1.5 times as much food. Bigger problem is eating out (restaurants, fast food) where 90% of money is wasted. Or buying expensive ingredients like meat or very processed foods. 10 times more food can be bought if choosing wisely. I pay maybe 4$-5$/day for food and I routinely throw away half. That's 2$/day wasted. But eating at restaurant wastes so m…

How much time do you spend grocery shopping and cooking? If you make 100$ per hour it doesnt take long before eating out is more economical.

With kid's the logic changes. How much time do I want to be stuck waiting in a restaurant? Supermarket shopping is actually more fun.

Re: Why we throw away more than 6M tonnes of groceries every year (2015)

#40

Post by samblr »

afarrell wrote: post #32
samblr wrote: post #21

Nations should have mandatory farming practice for half a year or so like they have mandatory military service. I think such practice will be eye opening on how we treat food.

There are many reasons why this is a bad idea - Because how do you house, feed, care for the health of, and train all of the people, while and keeping them from assaulting each other? - Because then you would have a bunch of poorly-skilled uninterested people around dangerous machinery. - Because there is not enough land for people to be employed productively in using modern farming techniques. - Because forcing peop…

Recently I saw it on YouTube - Japanese school children grow veggies and that are eaten as part of daily school meals. Doing this once or many times would suffice. I have to admit that I did not think through enough before I wrote farming as national service. But Idea here could be to get an experience or to know that there is toil behind to get our food on plate. If it can be done in Japan it can be done elsewhere.

Below is YouTube video.

https://youtu.be/hL5mKE4e4uU

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