FNH 355 Assignment A.2

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University of British Columbia *

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355

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Economics

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Jan 9, 2024

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Assignment A: Take Action to End World Hunger Part 2

What did you do? To take action toward ending world hunger and food insecurity, I tried to reduce my food waste. I ended up choosing this action due to its feasibility but also the challenges that are associated with it. It may have been easier for me to donate to an organization but I wanted to challenge myself to change a behaviour that was likely harmful to the environment and food insecurity around the world. In planning my action, I set out two possible strategies that I could incorporate into my life to reduce my waste: 1. Reducing the amount of food that I buy by increasing the frequency of my grocery trips 2. Improving the way that I store my leftovers to avoid having to throw them out so early. I only proposed these two strategies to increase the likelihood of completing my personal challenge. Ultimately, I ended up integrating other strategies that I did not mention above. For example, I was buying more frozen foods as opposed to fresh foods (specifically vegetables) because I found that, in the past, I could barely get through my fresh vegetables before they went bad and I would end up needing to throw them out. Buying frozen vegetables helped with reducing my food waste because they would last longer in the freezer. Another strategy I implemented was finding new ways to use my leftover food. For example, if I had gotten takeout from a ramen restaurant, I would typically just throw out the soup that I don’t finish but instead of doing that I would save the soup and boil some noodles to have with it another day (see Appendix B) I planned to do this challenge over 4 weeks, but after I had started I ended up going on vacation for a week. Therefore, I ended up pivoting and ‘restarting’ on the week of February 26, giving myself roughly 3 weeks to document my changes. I also planned to document my food waste journey by taking photos and making journal entries. For the most part, I stuck to this plan, however, I was not able to take as many photos as I would have liked because it would just slip my mind (see Appendix A for journal entries). What was the experience like for you? As I briefly mentioned, this was a challenging experience for me because I was trying to incite change in my behaviours. Throughout the whole process, I felt that I was becoming more aware of the foods I was buying and how much I actually needed during my grocery trips. It was definitely difficult for me in the sense that I felt really guilty when I did have to throw food out that had gone bad in the fridge. I surprised myself with how I was able to create new habits that contributed to reducing my food waste. As I mentioned earlier, I learned new methods of food storage that made it possible to keep food in the fridge/freezer longer (and because I had the means, I was able to buy different food containers that were actually air-tight and sealed properly). I also learned what works best for me in terms of the types of food I buy–frozen over fresh vegetables and non-perishables in general (such as dried pasta and canned tomatoes/tomato paste).

3) In what way did your action affect world hunger? Approximately one-third of the world’s food is lost or wasted after production, either at the production level or retail/household level, adding up to approximately 1 trillion dollars worth of food (World Food Program USA, 2022). In Canada alone, about 30% of the food that is wasted comes from Canadian households (Government of Canada, 2019). Reducing the amount of waste that I create in my own household, albeit small, can have an effect on world hunger for the better for many reasons. Munesue et al. (2014) estimate that a 50% reduction in food loss in developed countries, such as Canada, could decrease the number of undernourished individuals by 63.3 million, or 7.4%. These influences that Canadians, and individuals of other developing countries, have on global hunger are not direct. Climate-related events are driving low income families out of their homes, making it both economically and physically difficult to acquire adequate amounts and types of food. Food and agriculture make up roughly 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions, greatly contributing to climate change (Ritchie et al., 2022). As more food is wasted, the demand for food production increases. Therefore, reducing food waste will reduce the amount of food that needs to be produced in general, and overall reduces greenhouse gas emissions. 4) Do you think you made a difference? I think the impact that my attempt to reduce food waste had on the environment and global hunger was minimal. However, I do believe that if I continue with these habits that I created, I could contribute more. Additionally, after explaining to my roommate what I was doing for my FNH class, she became more mindful of how much food she is wasting as well. I think the real change that I was able to incite was influencing my roommate to change her habits as well. Therefore, I do think that I made a difference. 5) What was the most important thing you learned by doing this assignment? The most important thing that I learned by doing this assignment was simply how big the impact that food waste has on global hunger is. Before this assignment, I knew the implications that it has on the environment, but not necessarily the connection to global hunger. I never really thought about the impact that my own household food waste would have on food insecurity in a different country. 6) What will you do, moving forward? Moving forward, I will definitely strive to continue with the habits I built. Continuing to find alternatives to food storage that extend the shelf/fridge life of the foods that I buy. Another habit that I want to get myself into is finding recipes for the week before I go to the grocery store so that I have an idea of what I should buy as opposed to simply buying random ingredients that may only work with specific dishes. Additionally, I think that meal-prepping would be a time-efficient way for a university student, like myself, could improve the amount of food waste they’re creating. Overall, I hope to reduce my food waste as best as I can as I move forward.

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References Government of Canada. (2019). Taking stock: Reducing food loss and waste in Canada . Canada.ca. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/managing- reducing-waste/food-loss-waste/taking-stock.html#toc8 Munesue, Y., Masui, T., & Fushima, T. (2014). The effects of reducing food losses and food waste on global food insecurity, natural resources, and greenhouse gas emissions. Environmental Economics and Policy Studies , 17 (1), 43–77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10018-014-0083-0 Ritchie, H., Rosado, P., & Roser, M. (2022). Environmental impacts of food production . Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impacts- of-food World Food Program USA. (2022). 8 facts about how food waste and global hunger are connected . World Food Program USA. https://www.wfpusa.org/articles/8-facts-to- know-about-food-waste-and- hunger/#:~:text=For%20millions%20of%20people%20in,root%20causes%20of%20hu nger%20worldwide.

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