Earth Day/Earth Week/Earth Month is a time for everyone to come together and focus on the beauty that is this planet. The news runs stories on global warming, the melting of polar icecaps, the bleaching of coral reefs. We are inspired to act. We plant trees. We sign up for a park clean-up. We share a picture of Mother Earth on Facebook. Then days pass and we get back to our normal habits of life. This year, Cultivate challenges you to commit to treating every day like Earth Day. It is not hard. Small habits to help curb food waste greatly impact our world’s health.
The reality is that each year, Americans throw out 40% of their food supply. Instead of being consumed, this food is dumped into landfills and begins to decompose, emitting a powerful greenhouse gas, methane, into our atmosphere. Methane is a potent and major contributor to climate change- 27% more potent than carbon dioxide. Many resources go into food production, including water, energy, fertilizer, and land. When we throw out excess food, we also waste the resources used to grow, harvest, and distribute the food.
Excess food often goes unnoticed in our households, yet the repercussions of food waste are devastating for our environment and our community. Food waste has become the third largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world. There are steps you can take at home to help us work toward a healthier environment.
- Take inventory of the food in your fridge and pantry. Pay attention to expiration dates and organize accordingly.
- Commit to buying only the food you know you can consume. Freeze excess food.
- Start composting at home to prevent excess food from going into landfills.
You can also support Cultivate by volunteering to pack meals, donating, and encouraging your local restaurants and stores to become food donors.
Change starts small. In 2017, Cultivate rescued less than 20,000 pounds of food. Last year, over 2 million pounds were redistributed to our hungry neighbors. There are plenty of ways for everyone to support a brighter future for our earth and community. Choose one thing to commit to doing for the remainder of this week. Then commit to doing it for a month. Challenge your family and friends. Before long, every day will be Earth Day.