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A forgotten sandwich sits at the bottom of a lunchbox. It looks like a small thing to throw away. But before it reached the lunchbox, people used land, water, energy and time to make it.
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When edible food is wasted, those resources have been used without providing the meal they were meant to produce. Following the sandwich backwards reveals a much longer story.
The bread began with grain grown on a farm. Plants needed water and suitable growing conditions. Farmers used equipment, and a mill turned grain into flour. A bakery then mixed and baked the bread.
Other ingredients had journeys too. Food may need packaging, transport and cold storage before it reaches a shop. Different foods use different amounts of resources, so not every uneaten meal has the same impact.
Wasting food late in its journey also means wasting the work already done along the way. It is a little like making a carefully planned birthday card and throwing it away before anyone reads it.
Check this out next: 7 Ways to Reduce Food Waste At Home
That depends on where it goes. In a landfill, food can break down in conditions with very little oxygen. Microorganisms involved in that process can produce methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gases slow the escape of heat from Earth to space.
Food also has a climate footprint from the energy and other activities involved in producing it.
Some food scraps are collected for composting or other treatment. These systems can recover useful nutrients or energy. But turning waste into something useful does not undo all the resources used to produce the food.
Preventing edible food from being wasted is a good starting point. Shops can improve ordering and storage. Farms and transport companies can reduce losses before food reaches customers. Safe surplus food can sometimes be redistributed.
At home, adults can plan meals, store food correctly and use suitable leftovers safely. Starting with a manageable portion can help too, with more available if someone is still hungry. This is not a reason to eat food that may be unsafe, ignore allergies or force yourself to finish a meal. An adult should make decisions about storage, date labels and whether food is safe to eat.
You could help by noticing what is regularly left over and discussing a small change. The aim is to understand the pattern. A lunchbox can teach us about a whole food system, from the farm to what happens after lunch.
Preventing waste and safely managing unavoidable scraps do different jobs.
Wasted food also represents resources used to produce it.
Food decomposing in landfill can release methane.
With an adult, keep a paper lunch-waste diary for three days. Record only the kind of food left and a likely reason, without names or personal details. Separate edible leftovers from unavoidable scraps. Discuss one change, such as packing a smaller amount of an often-uneaten item. Adults should handle leftovers and food safety decisions.
Adapted for Kids.Earth.Org with additional factual sources and original learning activities. Original Earth.Org source: How Does Food Waste Affect the Environment? This adaptation has not been reviewed by the original author.
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