Food Waste Decreasing Worldwide, Good for Planet
2020-08-21
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1Clint Parry looked through every part of his kitchen during the stay-at-home period in Detroit, Michigan.
2He was looking for different foods and leftovers to put together meals.
3The 33-year-old man is one of many people around the world who has cut food spending and waste during the COVID-19 pandemic.
4Experts say if these new behaviors continue, they will help fight another worldwide crisis: climate change.
5Parry works as a model builder for a company in Michigan.
6He told the Reuters news agency that he and his wife have been finding use for all of their leftovers.
7In the past, they would forget to bring that food into work and instead buy fast food for lunch.
8The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that one-third of the world's food is wasted every year.
9That waste is responsible for about eight percent of the world's greenhouse gases.
10Forests are cleared, fuel is burned and packaging is produced.
11All of these processes put out greenhouse gases.
12When people throw food away, it sits on open areas of land and rots, putting more of these gases into the atmosphere.
13Toine Timmermans supervises the sustainable food program at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands.
14He told Reuters "the next crisis will be the climate crisis and the best thing you can do" is reduce food waste.
15At-home food waste in Britain, for example, fell sharply in the early part of the pandemic in April.
16At the time, just 14 percent of four main foods was wasted: bread, chicken, milk and potatoes.
17That information comes from research by environmental group WRAP, which talked to thousands of people.
18Before the lockdown in Britain, an average of 24 percent of those foods had been wasted.
19The waste average there rose to 18 percent by June, WRAP found.
20But that is still below levels before lockdown.
21Richard Swannell is director of WRAP Global, which works with governments to reduce food waste.
22He said, "Although people are reporting wasting more food as restrictions lift," 70 percent of people want to keep their new low-waste behaviors long term.
23Food security has been a big concern during the pandemic.
24The public bought too many of some basic goods.
25Farm workers struggled to get to the fields.
26Meat-packing factories closed because of virus fears.
27And farm goods that were produced for closed restaurants rotted.
28But the lower at-home food waste has been one bright thing.
29Out of need, people have become more organized in planning meals.
30They have also gained new cooking skills.
31And they check their cabinets and refrigerators more before they shop.
32They also find better ways to use up leftovers, food waste experts say.
33Laura Brooks is a mother of five children in Weymouth, Massachusetts.
34She said, "[As] things go back to normal, I may continue" with fewer shopping trips. When she goes to food stores more often, she notices the newly bought fruit and vegetables make her forget about older ones still in her refrigerator. So things "get wasted more easily," she said.
35More careful spending could prove a valuable skill in the economic and unemployment crises caused by the pandemic.
36Dana Gunders leads a nonprofit organization called ReFED.
37The group works on reducing wasted food across the United States.
38She said a family of four in the U.S. was estimated to throw away food worth about $1,800 a year.
39A survey by Germany's Food and Agriculture Ministry also found people have had more concern for food waste during the pandemic.
40The government had already launched an anti-food waste campaign before the crisis.
41It urged people not to throw away food after the sell-by date but to smell and taste it to see if it was still good.
42A survey during the pandemic found that 91 percent of Germans were checking food after its sell-by date.
43In a similar study from 2016, that number was 76 percent.
44Food waste is not restricted to the home, but that is where most of it happens in many countries.
45The European Union has published a study estimating that 53 percent of food waste was in homes and 11 percent in production.
46The rest was in areas such as processing and selling.
47China's President Xi Jingping said this month that the amount of food wasted in China was "shocking."
48That led to the launch of anti-food waste campaigns by many local governments.
49For Parry and his wife in Detroit, and for many others, lowering spending is here to stay.
50He says food costs have gone down a lot in the last five months.
51And, they have plenty of good leftovers in their refrigerator.
52I'm Alice Bryant.
1Clint Parry looked through every part of his kitchen during the stay-at-home period in Detroit, Michigan. He was looking for different foods and leftovers to put together meals. 2The 33-year-old man is one of many people around the world who has cut food spending and waste during the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts say if these new behaviors continue, they will help fight another worldwide crisis: climate change. 3Parry works as a model builder for a company in Michigan. He told the Reuters news agency that he and his wife have been finding use for all of their leftovers. In the past, they would forget to bring that food into work and instead buy fast food for lunch. 4The food waste crisis 5The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that one-third of the world's food is wasted every year. That waste is responsible for about eight percent of the world's greenhouse gases. 6Forests are cleared, fuel is burned and packaging is produced. All of these processes put out greenhouse gases. When people throw food away, it sits on open areas of land and rots, putting more of these gases into the atmosphere. 7Toine Timmermans supervises the sustainable food program at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands. He told Reuters "the next crisis will be the climate crisis and the best thing you can do" is reduce food waste. 8At-home food waste in Britain, for example, fell sharply in the early part of the pandemic in April. At the time, just 14 percent of four main foods was wasted: bread, chicken, milk and potatoes. That information comes from research by environmental group WRAP, which talked to thousands of people. 9Before the lockdown in Britain, an average of 24 percent of those foods had been wasted. 10The waste average there rose to 18 percent by June, WRAP found. But that is still below levels before lockdown. 11Richard Swannell is director of WRAP Global, which works with governments to reduce food waste. He said, "Although people are reporting wasting more food as restrictions lift," 70 percent of people want to keep their new low-waste behaviors long term. 12Plan more, cook more 13Food security has been a big concern during the pandemic. The public bought too many of some basic goods. Farm workers struggled to get to the fields. Meat-packing factories closed because of virus fears. And farm goods that were produced for closed restaurants rotted. 14But the lower at-home food waste has been one bright thing. 15Out of need, people have become more organized in planning meals. They have also gained new cooking skills. And they check their cabinets and refrigerators more before they shop. They also find better ways to use up leftovers, food waste experts say. 16Laura Brooks is a mother of five children in Weymouth, Massachusetts. She said, "[As] things go back to normal, I may continue" with fewer shopping trips. When she goes to food stores more often, she notices the newly bought fruit and vegetables make her forget about older ones still in her refrigerator. So things "get wasted more easily," she said. 17More careful spending could prove a valuable skill in the economic and unemployment crises caused by the pandemic. 18Dana Gunders leads a nonprofit organization called ReFED. The group works on reducing wasted food across the United States. She said a family of four in the U.S. was estimated to throw away food worth about $1,800 a year. 19Too good for the bin 20A survey by Germany's Food and Agriculture Ministry also found people have had more concern for food waste during the pandemic. 21The government had already launched an anti-food waste campaign before the crisis. It urged people not to throw away food after the sell-by date but to smell and taste it to see if it was still good. 22A survey during the pandemic found that 91 percent of Germans were checking food after its sell-by date. In a similar study from 2016, that number was 76 percent. 23Food waste is not restricted to the home, but that is where most of it happens in many countries. 24The European Union has published a study estimating that 53 percent of food waste was in homes and 11 percent in production. The rest was in areas such as processing and selling. 25China's President Xi Jingping said this month that the amount of food wasted in China was "shocking." That led to the launch of anti-food waste campaigns by many local governments. 26For Parry and his wife in Detroit, and for many others, lowering spending is here to stay. He says food costs have gone down a lot in the last five months. And, they have plenty of good leftovers in their refrigerator. 27I'm Alice Bryant. 28Reuters news agency reported this story. Alice Bryant adapted it for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 29________________________________________________________________ 30Words in This Story 31kitchen - n. a room in which food is cooked 32leftovers - n. food that was not finished at a meal and that is often served at another meal 33greenhouse gas - n. gases that cause warming of the Earth's atmosphere 34packaging - n. material used to enclose or contain something 35rot - v. to slowly decay or cause something to decay 36sustainable - adj. involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources 37lockdown - n. a state of restricted movement put in place as a security or health safety measure. 38cabinet - n. a piece of furniture that is used for storing things and usually has doors and shelves 39refrigerator - n. a device or room that is used to keep things (such as food and drinks) cold 40survey - n. an activity in which many people a series of questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something