Wasted Food
Chances are, a portion of the food you purchase ends up being wasted. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that approximately 31% of the overall food supply is wasted. This impacts food security, resource conservation, and even climate change - 18% of the country's emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, come from landfills. It's now time to take a stand and reduce the amount of food waste sent to landfills. The sustainable management of food does not only impact climate change but can also help to feed millions of people.
The EPA defines sustainable management of food as a "systematic approach that seeks to reduce wasted food and its associated impacts over the entire life cycle." It starts with the use of natural resources to produce the food and follows the cycle through manufacturing, sales, and consumption. It ends with decisions regarding recovery or final consumption. The main tenets of the system are "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle."
"Wasted food" describes food that was not used as it was originally intended. It not only includes food that is sent to landfills or combustion facilities, but also food that is donated to feed people, food that is used to create feed for animals and even food that is used to create organic compost. Examples include unused kitchen trimmings from restaurants, byproducts from food and beverage processing plants, unsold food from grocery stores, and even residential plate waste.
Without a doubt, wasted food is a growing problem today. In 2015, the EPA estimated that more the vast majority-nearly 95%-of this waste ended up in landfills and incinerators. This puts a huge burden on our landfills, in many cases causing them to quickly reach capacity. The amount of wasted food is staggering. Approximately 31% of the 430 billion pounds of food produced in the U.S. was not available for human consumption at the consumer level. In other words, one-third of the total amount of food produced remained uneaten.
But at the same time, this wasted food presents a tremendous opportunity. Recovering wasted food through donation, salvaging, and composting can create jobs. It is estimated that more than 36,000 people work in the food recycling industry, with more being added each year. Furthermore, we can feed people with this wasted food. You can contact your local food rescue organizations for information about where to donate and what type of food local charities accept. Finally, countries can donate food waste on a global basis. The United Nations predicts that through eliminating food waste, there would be enough extra food available to feed all of the chronically undernourished people of the world-without increasing food production. Clearly, the need to reduce, reuse, and recycle wasted food exists. Think about how you might be able to do this and implement a plan of action for cutting down on wasted food today.
Which of the following might the EPA include in a plan for sustainable management of food?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The EPA's concept of the sustainable management of food rests on three key principles-Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. By composting outdated food items, we can recycle food that would otherwise end up in a landfill or incinerator.
The use of generic packaging labels has no relation to the EPA's concept of sustainable management of food.
Collecting canned foods for the needy, although great, does not directly relate to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
One could argue that the introduction of bulk-sized products could lead to a reduction in packaging materials. However, collecting outdated food for compost is still a better answer because it is more directly related to the EPA's philosophies regarding the sustainable management of food.