Better Behavior
Reducing wasted food can also lower the 10:1 ratio of energy used to food eaten. An egregious 25 percent or more of the food grown is wasted annually. That massive amount represents 2.5 percent of annual U.S. energy consumption—more energy than all the ethanol produced in 2011 in the U.S. and more than the energy that will be produced in 2030 from lifting drilling restrictions today on the outer continental shelf. Simply decreasing the amount of food we throw away might reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions more over the next decade or two than many of the expensive or controversial energy supply policies that have been proposed.

Many methods of reducing food waste can begin tomorrow. We can invest in diagnostics that monitor food spoilage instead of using the crude date-based labeling system that has been in place for several decades. One example is temperature- and time-sensitive inks on food packaging that cause labels to change color if the food has been exposed to the wrong temperature for too long. Start-up companies produce these labels, which could spare a lot of food that is unnecessarily thrown away by stores that are worried about making their customers sick. The labels could indeed also prevent a lot of illnesses induced by spoiled food. Requiring companies to keep track of the temperatures that food has been exposed to—in addition to how long the food has been packaged—might give retailers and consumers better information about the risks of spoilage.

Different attitudes and dietary choices can help, too. Restaurants can stop serving mammoth portions, and consumers can stop bragging about their conquests at all-you-can-eat buffets. More extra food can be kept and eaten as leftovers. We can shift our diets to replace at least some of our energy-intensive meats with less energy-intensive fruits, nuts, vegetables, beans and grains. These behaviors do not require invention; they just require new thinking. Many of them end up saving consumers money as well. Having meatless Fridays or veggie Mondays might start to get us there.

As the original green revolution showed, large-scale changes can be implemented relatively quickly over just a few decades. The changes can be dramatic, achieving outcomes far better than anticipated. Yet surprises can arise, too: years of abundant food production have increased the incidence of obesity and aggravated climate change. Technology alone is not enough; even with the original green revolution, hunger has not been solved. A global approach to reducing the energy waste in food that incorporates new behaviors, attitudes and policies will be critical to widespread success. There is no reason to think this new green revolution will be any different. 

7 Comments

1. 1. gesimsek 02:24 PM 12/20/11

   Let's not forget the amount of energy we use to transport the foodstuff

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2. 2. David N'Gog in reply to gesimsek 11:13 AM 12/29/11

   
   That would be "distribution" which is mentioned.

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3. 3. ssarryo 10:21 PM 12/29/11

   I think that people should start growing some crops at home or other places like a community garden, a window sill, etc. I started planting some tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and jalapeno's to make salsa.

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4. 4. JerryWood 12:16 PM 12/31/11

   Beating The Drum of Popularism; Change what was learned for large population to reach older age: The most efficient answer will focus to absorption of nutrients. How to better use a food, so less quantity is used and more of the food does not go to waste. Sample: IGF1, found naturally in Milk & Honey helps with the absorption of amino acids. If, Billy takes a Colustrum capsule with his meat. The affect: Billy should eat less meat at dinner. Hence, less Cattle need to be raised to satisfy Billy's hunger. Or more Cattle can now be exported to satisfy the growing world population, with more people reaching older age. However, more research needs to be started on increasing the absorption of amino acids and a scale to measure absorption by.

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5. 5. JerryWood in reply to JerryWood 02:50 PM 1/14/12

   Discovery of Plant 'Nourishing Gene' Brings Hope for Increased Crop Seed Yield and Food Security; This artilce underlines plants and increasing nutrients. Again, more research is need, when a Person consumes food, to increase absorption of nutrients.
   
   http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120113102054.htm

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6. 6. krishna13061991 09:49 AM 2/2/12

   In my environs, in India, the major way to reduce food-energy consumption is to focus on innovative storage and distribution chains, minimizing wastage.
   In India, meat consumption is very less compared to U.S or any other developed economy. And hence, reduced efficiency due to meat production does not occur here. However, as may be noted from the unfortunate turn of events happened over last year, our government godowns (where food stock is stored for distribution) prefer rotting of the same, to, distribution among the poor.
   An important factor that is overlooked in this discussion is the unnecessary hype that surrounds any imported food product compared to native version of the same. These imports lead to wastage of hundreds of tons of fuel. A good example is, how India imports apples from all around the globe, when they can be raised in substantial amount in Shimla. Ironically, apple from Shimla are again exported to other nations.
   

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7. 7. krishna13061991 in reply to ssarryo 09:52 AM 2/2/12

   That is a great idea. That even leads to developing an innate sense of belongingness with the nature as well as the community.

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