Reducing one's own impact really does begin at home. By now, we've all heard the exhortations to turn out the lights, switch to efficient light bulbs, turn off the faucet, etc, etc. These are all important, and I encourage people to be taking those steps to reduce energy consumption. Walk or bike if that's feasible. But what if there was another way to reduce energy consumption? Don't waste food!
We all know that we do it; I'm no exception. But what if we can change that? We waste roughly one-third of all food we produce. Surely this is a terrible tragedy, an unconscionable waste. But this is the proverbial, and no pun intended, low-hanging fruit of the climate change debate. Forget windmills or solar power or electric cars (alright, well don't forget them, they are massively important for the overall solutions to the problem), this is something easy that can be done on a personal level by everyone in this country. If you really aren't going to eat it, don't buy it. If you buy it, eat it! When you eat out, get what you are going to eat, not more. If they serve you too much, see if you can take the rest home with you.
If we cut down on the waste, in the long run we'll be cutting down the emissions produced through agriculture, by cutting down the sheer volume of food that needs to be produced. And we will be more able to meet the food demands of an expanding population. This is something that shouldn't be contentious, something that should be common sense. Cut down on food waste to the extent possible, and everyone wins.
We all know that we do it; I'm no exception. But what if we can change that? We waste roughly one-third of all food we produce. Surely this is a terrible tragedy, an unconscionable waste. But this is the proverbial, and no pun intended, low-hanging fruit of the climate change debate. Forget windmills or solar power or electric cars (alright, well don't forget them, they are massively important for the overall solutions to the problem), this is something easy that can be done on a personal level by everyone in this country. If you really aren't going to eat it, don't buy it. If you buy it, eat it! When you eat out, get what you are going to eat, not more. If they serve you too much, see if you can take the rest home with you.
If we cut down on the waste, in the long run we'll be cutting down the emissions produced through agriculture, by cutting down the sheer volume of food that needs to be produced. And we will be more able to meet the food demands of an expanding population. This is something that shouldn't be contentious, something that should be common sense. Cut down on food waste to the extent possible, and everyone wins.
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