Stop Wasting Food Now

It's ironic, but as the price of food continues to rise, we are throwing away more of the food we produce. A new United Nations study shows that consumers in the wealthiest nations waste almost as much food as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa.

This is more than just a problem of Western households putting too much food on the table and not eating enough of it, of course. There are numerous production issues related to food losses and waste, a prevalent theme of the UN study, entitled Global Food Losses and Food Waste, and published last week.

Losses, according to the report, occur during the manufacturing, production, and distribution of food. There's a need for more efficient technology and improvements in the system to ensure that most of the food that is produced can eventually be consumed.

Waste is more of a Western issue, with retailers and consumers disposing of food that is considered edible. In all, according to the report, almost one billion tons of food are wasted every year.

An international congress called Save Food kicks off today in Germany, aiming to explore ways to increase efficiencies and to reduce global food waste. But stopping food waste begins at home.

How much food do you waste at home, or do you have techniques to ensure that you're not wasteful? Please discuss in the comments.