There are many global issues around the globe at the moment, we can all acknowledge that, but one of the lesser known issues would be that of the poor management of food waste. Food waste seems like a very basic issue from an external viewpoint, however, there’s a lot more to it once you begin to get into the nitty gritty of it. One thing a lot of people ignore how much food is really wasted, the number is a lot higher than you think. Around 80 million pounds of food are wasted every year, and that’s approximately the same as 1,000 Empire State Buildings. That number is only for the United States as well, imagine it on a global scale. The unfortunate reality, however, is that all of that food could’ve been given to starving people in third-world countries. There’s a sanitary issue when it comes to handing out leftover food, but we’ve come so for technologically, even more so chemically. That being the case, who’s to say that there isn’t a plausible solution that could be used to sanitize leftover whilst keeping it edible. A cleaning agent could be applied, and then there can be a sanitization stage where you would remove the chemicals used to clean, however you must be very particular in this stage. You can fully argue the ethics of this, however if you were truly starving to death, I don’t think you’d turn away free food like that. This kind of process of sanitization could be industrialized, and turned into a system to providing food to the homeless and starving. Under the guise of an industrial, sanitized environment that allows for mass production, giving leftovers to the homeless would appear much more ethical, and less humiliating for them. If we were able to create such a process, it would benefit many people in need, and use up the mass amounts of food we waste, the only downside would be receiving finances to run such a program. The solution to the food waste issue, is the industrialization of a process that involves sanitizing, and distributing leftover food to the starving through ethical means.

The food waste problem is a lot more severe than people would think. Rts.com displays statistics that claim the annual total of U.S. food waste is “80 billion pounds of food and [that] equates to more than $161 billion.” (Food Waste in America in 2020). That is 30-40% of the country’s food supply, imagine how many starving people could’ve been fed by that. Imagine you throw out a third of your meal every time you eat, that’s essentially what the country as a whole is doing. If we keep this up, there’s a major issue when it comes to landfills as well, which is where most of this leftover food gets sent. Rts.com states that “food is the single largest component taking up space inside US landfills.”, which makes sense to do how much is truly wasted. Now with this in mind, imagine trying to throw 1,000 Empire-State-Buildings-worth of food into landfills at an annual rate, eventually, we’re going to run out of space. If we continue to waste this much food, we’re not only throwing out the opportunity to help a lot of people in need of food, but we’re also damaging our environment by filling landfills left and right with all of the food that we waste, and while food is the largest component of landfills, we still have to account for all the other trash put into them. We’re wasting money, we’re wasting resources, and we’re wasting our time not doing anything about this. Unfortunately, not many people recognize this issue, so there’s not a lot being done to fix this, however, there’s a great solution to this issue. The solution may cost us economically, however wasting “$161 billion” ever year will surely cost more than fixing the issue. Furthermore, providing the homeless with food like this may help them get back on their feet, therefore earning jobs, and boosting the economy with their new-found way of life.

This is all speculation, however it is certainly a feasible way of making profit by supplying such a program with government funding. I understand that the government has a lot of debt and they can’t just spend cash on whatever they want, but, putting money into this would certainly boost them financially. Think of it this way, if more people get jobs, they’ll spend more money into the market, and they’ll help companies make more money. An article from Big Think describes the process, “…jobs provided people with income, income begat consumption, and higher consumption (as a component of gross domestic product) meant growth.” (Altman). What they’re saying is that if more people get jobs, the more people there will be to fuel the economy, and therefore there will be growth. Be financing this process, it will act as some kind of investment for the government. This is the best way I can address the counterargument pertaining to the cost of the project, but as you can see there will be profit in the long run. If it’s  still not enough, at an international scale, there could be a high import cost for receiving food for the poor, or they can full on charge other countries, but at low, government-regulated prices. So in the end, it’s gonna cost the world a fair amount of money, but again, it’s going to act like an investment. If they solve the homelessness and starvation issue, more jobs will boost the economy, and third-world countries would certainly be grateful for such charitable deeds. In addition, other countries within the United Nations should be donating large sums to this cause, as it would result in many good things for the world as a whole if it spreads internationally. For once in history we just need to put aside our greed and realism, and take the time to act better. Because all it takes is two seconds to consider kindness and charity as an option, and if we let it pass by, we may seriously regret the end result. I hope that you find my counter to the counterargument convincing, and if you’re satisfied with at the moment, then allow me to further explain the process to you as I dive into the specifics of the sanitization and distribution aspect of the project.

The sanitization process has to be very delicate, as a solution too potent on the pH scale. It took a bit of trial and error, first sodium chloride (more commonly referred to as salt) could be used, but that would pertain to pickling. The whole pickling idea fell flat in the Gilded Age of the late 1800’s, as nearly every commoner would drop dead from eating disgusting pickled rotten meat that was commonly accidentally mixed with rats and their feces, dirt, and sometimes human limbs. Therefore, obviously, pickling wouldn’t work, so a much better solution somewhat similar would be sodium hypochlorite. Sodium hypochlorite, however, would prove to be way too poisonous, as it can mildly itch skin in small doses of skin contact, and cause redness, swelling, and intense pain in large doses. Sodium hypochlorite would simply be too harmful, whereas the final solution, chlorine dioxide, would prove to be much healthier, yet just as efficient. Chlorine dioxide can sanitize properly at very low concentrations, and is even used to clean apples of their bacteria before their shipped out into markets. It’s the perfect solution, before this can be applied there needs to be some kind of ethical preservative so that the food doesn’t go rotten. Whilst Himalayan salt would work well and be the obvious choice , garlic would actually prove to have, “…anti-viral properties that help in fighting bacteria, both in your body and food.” (Rana) as food.ndtv and many other sources would claim and test. As for the flavoring, that can work quite efficiently, as many citric acids are used to mask the distasteful flavor of many miscellaneous foods. There will need to be mass amounts of lemon, lime, orange, or pomegranate acids, which will work out because they also act as excellent preservatives. However because this product will consist of many diverse foods, there’s going to need to be certain limitations on what food can be donated for the sake of consumer happiness and safety (obviously if the food is rotten at any point it will be thrown away). Once the food is stored in citric acids, it will then be delivered via airplanes and trucks, similar to how shoprite groceries can be delivered to homes. Once the idea gains enough momentum, the rate of output can greatly increase, and be similar to the way garbage trucks operate. A mechanically-advanced truck will come around bi-daily to exchange leftover-filled ice-bins (for preservation purposes) with a clean one where families and restaurants can donate leftovers if they feel so inclined. Unfortunately, we can’t expect families to keep the bins properly clean, therefore if they aren’t clean enough they simply will be thrown out, and exchanged with a clean bin. This, by the way, isn’t a mandatory process to take part in, people have the right to not participate, however I recommend government official highly encourage it. To review the process, families and restaurants will place leftovers in freezing ice-bins, they will be exchanged for new bins every two days, brought to their local industry to be put on garlic-preservation until they can be sanitized by decent doses of chlorine dioxide, stored in various citric acid solutions, and then promptly shipped out to local homeless shelters and third-world countries suffering from mass starvation. Food will be categorized based upon nutrients that will be supplied in order to not toss random food at people. In detail, this whole process sounds very complicated, and like it’s too much work. To be frank, it IS a lot of work, but this issue isn’t going to get fixed, and constantly putting it off like we’ve done with global warming will only lead to bad things. The work needs to be put in if we’re going to do this, and it will cost us a lot, but with generous donations from other countries, and money made from new hard-working citizens, I believe it can be done if we all truly put our efforts together. Like Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.” (Ford). Food waste is a ungrateful act committed by all, but who knew that we could spin it around to aid in world hunger, and the preservation of resources.

I feel so strongly about this because I’ve had a few personal experiences with this kind of stuff, one in my part-time job, and one that occurred on the very day that I’m writing this, ironically enough. I work at a restaurant, the perfect place for leftovers to be seen, so naturally, I see a lot of food come and go. Specifically, I bus tables, so I have to throw out the leftover food, and let me just say, that there are some pretty wasteful people out there. I’ve thrown out sandwiches with one bite in them, if not none at all, whereas a starving person would have certainly needed that. I’ve always thought about how much food is wasted, but only now do I realize how real the issue is. The second experience, that I experienced today makes me think about the 80 million pounds of food that are wasted every year in the U.S.. That number is probably a lot lower than the actual amount, because of littering. I was in the car, and I saw a sub that was tossed onto the side of the road. Because I’ve been typing this essay, it instantly made me think of the statistic I mentioned earlier in my essay, and how inaccurate it could be. 

To summarize, there is a massive food waste problem that is a lot more severe than most people think, and based on my personal experience and evidence from various sources, my solution to the crisis is to establish a leftover-collector industry that will properly preserve, sanitize, flavor and redecorate, and distribute the new food product to starving and homeless individuals all over the world. The severity is really detrimental to us, because as RTS stated there is more than 80 million pounds of food wasted each year in the U.S. alone. The solution will consist of bi-daily pick ups of preserved leftovers, the more powerful preservation in garlic/Himalayan salt, the categorization of various nutrients the proper sanitization through chlorine dioxide, the preservation and flavoring afterwards in various citric acids, and the mass-distribution through planes and trucks. It’s more than a little complex, but for a 11th grade student to have to come up with this solution, it’s probably the best you’re gonna get. Truthfully, if the basics of this plan are deemed idiotic to you, well then I really hope that you begin to think about what you are willing to do for this issue, because it needs your attention, that’s for sure.

Works Cited

Altman, Daniel. “How Are Jobs Connected to Economic Growth?” Big Think, 2 Dec. 2013, bigthink.com/econ201/how-are-jobs-connected-to-economic-growth. Accessed 25 Jan. 2021.

“Food Waste in America in 2020.” Recycle Track Systems, www.rts.com/resources/guides/food-waste-america/. Accessed 25 Jan. 2021.

“Is it Ethical to Give Food Leftovers to Homeless People?” Reddit, 6 Feb. 2020, www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/d6k5po/is_it_ethical_to_give_food_leftovers_to_homeless/f0twftd/. Accessed 25 Jan. 2021.

Lehman, Shereen. “Citric Acid Adds Flavor and Keeps Food Fresh.” Verywellfit, 27 Nov. 2020, www.verywellfit.com/citric-acid-adds-flavor-and-keeps-food-fresh-2506582. Accessed 25 Jan. 2021.

Pfuntner, Alan. “Sanitizers and Disinfectants: The Chemicals of Prevention.” Food Safety Magazine, 1 Aug. 2011, www.food-safety.com/articles/6707-sanitizers-and-disinfectants-the-chemicals-of-prevention. Accessed 25 Jan. 2021.

Rana, Sarika. “6 Natural Kitchen Ingredients to Preserve Food Without Using Food Additives.” NDTV Food, 17 Sept. 2019, food.ndtv.com/food-drinks/6-natural-kitchen-ingredients-to-preserve-food-without-using-food-additives-1741112. Accessed 25 Jan. 2021.