Today I read in the BBC that as much as half of the world’s food, amounting to two billion tonnes worth, ends up being thrown away, a UK-based report has claimed. In the same article it said “that that between 30% and 50% of the four billion tonnes of food produced around the world each year went to waste.”
The answer to “is there enough food in the world to be able to feed everyone” is YES. Now Im not saying that the food you throw away could be used to feed the hungry people in (insert country here), Im just saying that we are a wasteful people and we need to take a good look at our lifestyle. I realize here that saying we are a wasteful people is kind of a blanket statement, but it seems to be pretty well backed up by the statistics in the above paragraph and in the BBC news article.
What would it look like if we took less food on our plates? Hmm, lets just think about some of the consequences of that:
- healthier people
- less obesity
- less money spent
- better looking bodies
- higher self esteem
Seems like there is no downside to eating less food. This next statement isn’t gonna win me any brownie points, but what would it look like if we boycotted buffets in the USA and Canada? Well, Vegas might shut down, but once again is that such a bad thing? All I am saying is that we have a problem and we are wasteful and undisciplined when it comes to food and diet. Here are a few steps I believe we could take towards making this wrong right.
- Stop eating when you feel full
- Buy smaller plates so that you can still have a full plate, but it’s not a giant one
- Skip a mean and give that money you would have spent to an org like One Day’s Wages
- Fast and pray for breakthrough in your life.
- Come to Cambodia with Steps of Justice this summer and see hunger 1st hand.
- If your gonna do a buy one get one deal on food then give your free product to a food bank
- This is a discipline that is not only good for us, but also for the younger generation. It teaches our children about waste and stewardship. It teaches them about self control. It teaches them to say no and to know when enough is enough. Lets make some changes in our lives right now, your body and wallet will thank you for it.
You can read the article in it entirety on the BBC here.
