考研英語作文預測-食物浪費

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Foodislostorwastedforavarietyofreasons:badweather,processing

problems,overproductionandunstablemarketscausefoodlosslong

beforeitarrivesinagrocerystore,whileoverbuying,poorplanning

andconfusionoverlabelsandsafetycontributetofoodwasteatstores

andinhomes.Foodwastealsohasastaggeringpricetag,costingthis

countryapproximately$218billionperyear.Uneatenfoodalsoputs

unneededstrainontheenvironmentbywastingvaluableresourceslike

waterandfarmland.Atatimewhen12percentofAmericanhouseholds

arefoodinsecure,reducingfoodwastebyjust15percentcouldprovide

enoughsustenancetofeedmorethan25millionpeople,annually.

Therearetwomainkindsofwastedfood:foodlossandfoodwaste.

Foodlossisthebiggercategory,andincorporatesanyediblefood

thatgoesuneatenatanystage.Inadditiontofoodthat'suneatenin

homesandstores,thisincludescropsleftinthefield,foodthat

spoilsintransportation,andallotherfoodthatdoesn'tmakeitto

astore.Someamountoffoodislostatnearlyeverystageoffood

production.Foodwasteisaspecificpieceoffoodloss,whichtheUS

DepartmentofAgriculture's(USDA)EconomicResearchService(ERS),

definesasfooddiscardedbyretailersduetocolororappearanceand

platewastebyconsumers."Foodwasteincludesthehalf-eatenmeal

leftontheplateatarestaurant,foodscrapsfrompreparingameal

athomeandthesourmilkafamilypoursdownthedrain.

Ediblefoodisdiscardedateverypointalongthefoodchain:onfarms

andfishingboats,duringprocessinganddistribution,inretailstores,

inrestaurantsandathome.

FoodproductionintheUSuses15.7percentofthetotalenergybudget,

50percentofalllandand80percentofallfreshwaterconsumed.Yet

20billionpoundsofproduceislostonfarmseveryyear.Foodloss

occursonfarmsforavarietyofreasons.Tohedgeagainstpestsand

weather,farmersoftenplantmorethanconsumersdemand.Foodmaynot

beharvestedbecauseofdamagebyweather,pestsanddisease.Market

conditionsoffthefarmcanleadfarmerstothrowoutediblefood.

Ifthepriceofproduceonthemarketislowerthanthecostof

transportationandlabor,sometimesfarmerswillleavetheircropsun-

harvested.Thispractice,calleddumping,happenswhenfarmers

areproducingmoreofaproductthatpeoplearewillingtobuy,or

whendemandforaproductfallsunexpectedly.DuringtheCOVID-19

pandemic,forexample,farmerslostamajorportionoftheirbusiness

duetorestaurantandschoollunchroomclosures.Thisledthemtothe

painfuldecisiontoplowoverediblecropsanddumpupto3.7million

gallonsofmilkperdayontofieldsratherthangothroughthe

additionalcostofharvestingandprocessingproductstheycouldnot

sellWhilethegovernmenthasprogramstobuyexcessproduceand

donateittofoodshelvesandemergencyrelieforganizations,the

highlyspecializedprocessingandtransportationnetworksformany

productsmakesdonationdifficultandexpensive.Cosmetic

imperfections(leadingtoso-called“uglyproduce")areanother

significantsourceoffoodwasteonfarmsbothbeforeandafter

harvest,asconsumersarelessinterestedinmisshapedorblemished

items.Foodsafetyscaresandimproperrefrigerationand

handlingcanalsoforcefarmerstothrowoutotherwiseedible

food.Finally,inrecentyears,farmershavebeenforcedtoleave

foodinthefieldsduetolaborshortagescausedbychanging

immigrationlaws.

ArecentstudybytheFoodandAgricultureOrganizationoftheUnited

Nations(FAO)estimatesthateightpercentofthefishcaughtinthe

worldysmarinefisheriesisdiscarded一about78.3milliontonsper

year.Discardsaretheportionofthecatchoffishthatarenot

retainedandareoftenreturneddeadordyingbackintothe

water.Otherstudiesestimatethat40to60percentofthefish

caughtbyEuropeantrawlersintheNorthSeaarediscardedat

sea.AndarecentUSstudyfoundthat16to32percentofbycatch

arethrownawaybyAmericancommercialfishingboats.Tropicalshrimp

trawlinghasthehighestdiscardrateandaccountsforover27percent

oftotalestimateddiscards.Discardingthrowstheocean,secosystem

offbalancebyincreasingfoodforscavengersandkillinglargenumbers

oftargetandnon-targetfishspecies.

Someproducethatdoesnotmeetstrictretailerorconsumercosmetic

standardsgoestosuppliersforprocessing,buteveniftheyare

willingtoaccepttheproduce,thesuppliermustbecloseenoughto

justifytransportationcostsandabletoacceptlargevolumesof

produce.Thesecostbarriersmakeitparticularlychallengingforsmall

andmidsizefarmerstogetthesesecondaryitemstoprocessors.

Mostwasteatmanufacturingandprocessingfacilitiesisgenerated

whiletrimmingoffedibleportions,suchasskin,fat,crustsandpeels

fromfood.Someofthisisrecoveredandusedforotherpurposes一in

theUS,about33percentoffoodwastefrommanufacturinggoesto

animalfeed.Evenwiththisrecoveredandreusedmaterialtakenoutof

thecalculation,abouttwobillionpoundsoffoodarewastedinthe

foodprocessingormanufacturingstageAnumberofissues,like

overproduction,productdamageandtechnicalproblemsatmanufacturing

facilitiescontributetotheselargequantitiesoffoodwaste.Much

likefarms,foodprocessingfacilitiesarevulnerabletolabor

disruptionsandshortages.DuringtheCOVID-19outbreak,manymeat

processingfacilitiesclosedasworkersfellill,whichforced

processingplantstoclose.Thismeantthattheanimals,whichcould

nolongerbeprocessed,wereslaughteredanddiscardedbythethousand.

Duringfoodtransportationanddistribution,perishablefoodsare

vulnerabletoloss,especiallyindevelopingnationswhereaccessto

adequateandreliablerefrigeration,infrastructureandtransportation

canbeachallenge.Whilethisisnotasignificantsourceoffood

wasteintheUS;foodwastedoesoccurwhenproducespoilsfromimproper

refrigeration.Alargerproblemoccurringatthisstageisthe

rejectionofperishablefoodshipments,whicharethrownoutifanother

buyercan'tbefoundquickly.Itisestimatedthatbetweentwoand

fivepercentoffoodshipmentsarerejectedbyfoodbuyers.Evenif

thesegoodsmakeittomarket,theyareoftenwastedanywaybecauseof

shortershelflives.Often,rejectedfoodshipmentsaredonatedtofood

rescueorganizations,butthequantitiesaretoolargetoaccept.

Anestimated43billionpoundsoffoodwerewastedinUSretailstores

in2010.Thisisparticularlydisconcertinggiventhatin2016,12.3

percentofAmericanhouseholdswerefoodinsecure.Mostoftheloss

inretailoperationsisinperishables,includingbakedgoods,produce,

meat,seafoodandpreparedmeals.TheUSDAestimatesthat

supermarketslose$15billionannuallyinunsoldfruitandvegetables

alone.Unfortunately,wastefulpracticesintheretailindustryare

oftenviewedasgoodbusinessstrategies.Someofthemaindriversfor

foodlossatretailstoresinclude:overstockedproductdisplays,

expectationofcosmeticperfectionoffruits,vegetablesandother

foods,oversizedpackages,theavailabilityofpreparedfooduntil

closing,expired“sellby”dates,damagedgoods,outdatedseasonal

items,overpurchasingofunpopularfoodsandunderstaffing.

Currently,only10percentofediblewastedfoodisrecoveredeach

year,intheUS.Barrierstorecoveringfoodareliabilityconcerns,

distributionandstoragelogisticsandfundsneededforgleaning,

collecting,packaginganddistribution.TheGoodSamaritanFood

DonationAct,signedintolawin1996,provideslegalliability

protectionforfooddonorsandrecipientsandtaxbenefitsfor

participatingbusinesses.However,awarenessaboutthislawandtrust

intheprotectionsitoffersremainslow.

USrestaurantsgenerateanestimated22to33billionpoundsoffood

wasteeachyear.Institutions一includingschools,hotelsand

hospitals一generateanadditional7to11billionpoundsper

year.Approximately4to10percentoffoodpurchasedbyrestaurants

iswastedbeforereachingtheconsumer.Driversoffoodwasteat

restaurantsincludeoversizedportions,inflexibilityofchainstore

managementandextensivemenuchoices.AccordingtotheCornell

UniversityFoodandBrandLab,onaverage,dinersleave17percentof

theirmealsuneatenand55percentofedibleleftoversareleftatthe

restaurant.Thisispartlyduetothefactthatportionsizeshave

increasedsignificantlyoverthepast30years,oftenbeingtwoto

eighttimeslargerthanUSDAorFederalDrugAdministration(FDA)

standardservings.

Kitchencultureandstaffbehaviorsuchasover-preparationoffood,

improperingredientstorageandfailuretousefoodscrapsand

trimmingscanalsocontributetofoodloss.All-you-can-eatbuffets

areparticularlywasteful,sinceextrafoodcannotlegallybereused

ordonatedduetohealthcoderestrictions.Thecommonpracticeof

keepingbuffetsfullystockedduringbusinesshours(ratherthan

allowingitemstorunoutnearclosing)createsevenmorewaste.

Householdsareresponsibleforthelargestportionofallfood

waste.ReFEDestimatesthatUShouseholdswaste76billionpoundsof

foodperyear.Approximately40to50percentoffoodwaste(including

51to63percentofseafoodwastehappensatleveloftheconsumer.In

theUS,anaveragepersonwastes238poundsoffoodperyear(21percent

ofthefoodtheybuy),costingthem$1,800peryear.Intermsof

totalmass,freshfruitsandvegetablesaccountforthelargestlosses

attheconsumerlevel(19percentoffruitsand22percentof

vegetables),followedbydairy(20percent),meat(21percent)and

seafood(31percent).Majorcontributorstohouseholdfoodwaste

include:

1.FoodSpoilage一Abouttwo-thirdsoffoodwasteathomeisdueto

foodnotbeingusedbeforeitgoesbad.Foodspoilageathome

occursduetoimproperstorage,lackofvisibilityin

refrigerators,partiallyusedingredientsandmisjudgedfood

needs.

2.Over-Preparing一Theremainingthirdofhouseholdfoodwasteis

theresultofpeoplecookingorservingtoomuchfood.Cooking

portionshaveincreasedovertime,andlargemealsofteninclude

morefoodthanwecanfinish.TheCornellFoodandBrandlabfound

thatsince2006,servingsizesintheclassiccookbookTheJoyof

Cookinghaveincreasedby36percent.Inaddition,peopleoften

forgettoeatleftovers,andendupthrowingthemaway.

3.DateLabelConfusion——Anestimated80percentofAmericans

prematurelydiscardfoodduetoconfusionoverthemeaningofdate

labels(e.g.，“sellby,”“bestifusedby,““expiresby,"and

soforth).Inreality,“sellby"and"useby“datesarenot

federallyregulatedandonlyserveasmanufacturersuggestionsfor

peakquality.ResearchondatelabelingfromtheUKsuggeststhat

standardizingfooddatelabelingandclarifyingitsmeaningtothe

publiccouldreducehouseholdfoodwastebyasmuchas20

percent.

4.Overbuying一Salesonunusualproductsandpromotionsthat

encourageimpulseandbulkfoodpurchasesatretailstoresoften

leadconsumerstopurchaseitemsthatdonotfitintotheirregular

mealplansand,therefore,spoilbeforetheycanbeused.

5.PoorPlanning一Withoutmealplansandshoppinglists,consumers

oftenmakeinaccurateestimatesofwhatandhowmanyingredients

theywilluseduringtheweek.Unplannedrestaurantmealsorfood

deliverycanalsoleadtofoodathomegoingbadbeforeitcanbe

used.

Thereareseveralmacro-leveldriversofthefoodwasteproblemin

theUSandglobally.Oneisthedifficultyofturningnewconsumer

awarenessintoaction.PublicawarenessaboutfoodwasteintheUS

hasimprovedsignificantlyoverthelastfewyears.Thisislargely

duetotheeffortsoforganizationsliketheAdCouncilandtheir

SavetheFoodcampaign,andcoverageofthetopicfromLastWeek

TonightwithJohnOliver,NationalGeographic,BBC,Consumer

Reportsandthemorethan3,300articleswrittenabouttheissueby

majornewsandbusinessoutletsbetween2011and2016一a205

percentincreaseoverthatperiod.

Additionally,in2015,theUSDAandtheUSEnvironmentalProtection

Agencyadoptedfederaltargetstocutfoodwasteby50percentby

2030.In2016asurveybytheAdCouncilof6700adults,75percent

ofrespondentssaidthatfoodwastewasimportantorveryimportantto

them.However,limiteddatamakesitdifficulttoassesswhetherthis

awarenesshasturnedintoactionandwhetherornotpeopleareactually

wastinglessfoodnowthantheywerebefore.Homesremainalarge

sourceoffoodwasteandmoreneedstobedonetohelpeducatethe

publicandprovidepeoplewithresourcestohelpthemimplementfood

savingpracticesathome.

Anotherreasonwhyfoodwastehasbecomesuchalargeproblemisthat

ithasnotbeeneffectivelymeasuredorstudied.Acomprehensivereport

onfoodlossesintheUSisneededtocharacterizeandquantifythe

problem,iden