Impact of Neo-liberalism on Food Wastage

According to Lawrence, Richards and Lyons (2013), the food problem is one of the pressing issues in the society. One of the many reasons for the rise in the number of people being affected by the wastage of food is the neo liberalist ideas followed by the government. The neoliberal ideologies of the government focusses on the development of a more market based approach in the society. The global food shortage is the lack of the amount of food to fulfil the needs of the people in the society as per their daily requirement. The neo-liberal societies based on consumerism in Australia is giving rise to the food wastage in the country. The neo-liberalism in the modern society has led to the rise in the privatization of the food industry.  However, the neo-liberalism is good considering the fact it keep in control the quality of the product.

According to Tscharntke et al. (2012), the food management is one of the major issues that leads to the food wastage keeping a major population hungry. The use of the food products to be used as the food for the cattle and other animals also raises a major concern. In this context it can be also pointed out that a number of food processing industries waste a large amount of food products to maintain a high standard in the quality of their supplies (Quested et al., 2014). The use of the food products to feed the cattle and the poultry in Australia has led to the wastage of the good edible food. It is to be considered that the food given to the animals have to be of good quality but it has to be given in controlled amounts to prevent wastage.

As pointed out by Parfitt, Barthel and Macnaughton (2010), the majority of the food wastage that is present in the society occurs in the different channels ranging from the mismanagement in the food production services to the supply chain of the food products. The food and the food products in the society are usually lost due to the improper storage and supply facilities leading to a rise in amount food being destroyed in the process (Eriksson, 2015). The length of the supply chain and the amount of transport needed along with the quality of the transport facilities in maintaining the quality of food for human consumption. However, the use of the modern technology in the packaging and preservation will help in the reduction of food wastage.

According to West et al. (2014), food wastage is one of the major issues to be mitigated in the present society to meet the demands of food globally and have a global food security. It is seen that in case of the dairy, meat and poultry products the amount of food wastage is extreme as these foods are wasted due to the negligence in their use. The different meat and poultry which are rejected for quality are fit for consumption are thrown away for not meeting quality standards which is a major issue. The Australian society being the first world country revolves around the consumption of fresh vegetables and that leaves a lot of waste of usable food products.

Food Management and Mismanagement in Production

As shown by Melikoglu, Lin and Webb (2013), the developed economies around the world tends to produce more food waste due to their negligence. The food that is wasted not only affects the overall economy of the society but also causes a major threat to the environment (Papargyropoulou et al., 2014). Most of the biodegradable food products in the society leads to the rise in the amount of the production of the greenhouse gasses adversely affecting the environment in the long term. The wasted food that ends up in the wastelands and the landfills leads to the loss of the energy that can be produced from them. To counter this, the families have to consider proper food management within the household to prevent the wastage of food.

As pointed out by Gunders (2012), majority of the food that is produced in the society is lost in the processes that start from the production to the processes that take them to the end user. The wastage in the farming processes may be due to natural factors such as natural disasters, pest and diseases. The packaging and the processing level takes into account the culling processes in which the food is removed based on their looks and other such factors leading to loss in the overall food production in the society. In this case the remedial measures taken by France is a good way to counter the food wastage in the Supermarkets. The French policy focusses on giving away the wasted food to the needy and poor (Chrisafis, 2018).

According to Hall et al. (2009), the increased amount of the consumption is one of the major reasons of the food wastage in the society. The increase in the buying potential of the individuals has led to the rise in the amount of people who tend to buy more food than needed by them leading to the wastage of the food in the society.  The rise in the amount of food wastage has led to the people being affected by the different diseases.

As pointed out by Lundqvist, de Fraiture and Molden, (2008), the foods wastage also affects the water in the environment. The food wastage leads to the rise in the need of the more water to meet the needs of the society. The loss of food means that more food that can be consumed will be lost. To compensate it more food has to be produced to meet the needs of the society leading to major issue in the water conservation (Lin et al., 2014). The need in the variety of food by the affluent class has led to the increase in wastage of food in the society. The growing tourism and the demand for the freshest edible items in the country cause a variety of food wastage in Australia.

According to Kummu et al., (2012), food wastage is one of the major issues plaguing the society due to the impact that they have on the society. The foods wastage adds on the global huger while affecting the environment in many negative ways such as production of gasses like methane and contaminating groundwater (Wada, Van Beek & Bierkens, 2011). The global loss of around 30% of the food produced causes a major issue in the global economic and providing for the society in case of global hunger.

The Effect of Food Wastage on the Environment and Water Conservation

According to Edwards and Mercer, (2012), the food waste is one most plaguing issues in the Australian society. This has led to the rise in the number of freegans who choose to consume and distribute the food that is considered vestigial for the consumption in the society. The freegans choose to use the food that was considered waste in their diet so that the food could be used and there was no need of protest for the conservation. This practice has led to the rise in the practice of freeganism to avoid huger and wastage of food.

The food wastage is one of the pressing issues in Australia due to the loss of the fresh and edible food in the country. On the other France has devised a new way to curb food wastage by curbing the supermarkets from throwing away food. The French on the other hand are supervising the supermarkets to donate the leftovers to the needy. This will help in fighting the food shortage problem in the society. This helps the people in the society while preventing food waste.

Food wastage is defined as the waste of the food that was fit for eating and could have been used for the purpose. The waste of the food that was it for consumption for various purposes is considered food waste and is one of the rising issues in today’s society. When food is lost it is a loss for the whole society as the food cannot reused into the system and leads to global food shortage in the society (Bernstad, Cánovas & Valle, 2017). The amount of food that is lost in the different forms lead to a global food shortage in the society.  The amount of food that is used and the amount that is lost due to various human mismanagement creates a discrepancy in the providing of the food in the society according to the demand. The amount of food that is used and lost during the consumption has a major share in the food wastage cycle. It is estimated that around 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted globally due to a number of reasons. The figures may be much more but there are a number countries in which food wastage cannot be estimated due to the lack of infrastructure.

There may be a number of reasons for the food to be wasted in the present society in the chain of the food being produced and reaching the end-users. The consumption patterns of the people and their buying process also has a major role to play in the food wastage in the society. The amount of food wasted in the households are one of the major causes of the food wastage that is prevalent in the society.

Need for the aesthetic beauty in the food: There is a large quantity of food that is wasted globally due to their lack of the aesthetic beauty. In the present consumer based society the producers and the market wants to market the food that is considered aesthetically beautiful which leads to a major loss in the amount of food (Porter et al., 2018). The consumers in the present society prefer food that are good to look at. The shift from the quality to the aesthetic beauty leads to a loos in a large amount of food mainly fruits and vegetables.

The Effects of Food Wastage on Global Hunger

 Ambiguous Dating:  In the present society, the major problem of food wastage is the ambiguous dating used on the products. The use of the different label such bas “use by”, “best by” and “sell by” creates a suspicion among the consumers about the freshness of the product (Dou et al, 2016). This leads to a wastage of a large amount of food that is usually fit for consumption despite a bit deterioration in taste.

Improper Storage: The storage facility and proper infrastructure of keeping the food usable for a long time should be used. Improper storage processes and using the same storage facilities for a number of edibles causes them to lose their quality (Gunders & Bloom, 2017). This is one the major problems and exists due to the negligence in the training of the food storage processes that may help them to last longer.

Lack of Planning: The lack of the planning and the understanding of the amount needed is one of the major contributors of food wastage. In most cases people overstock products that they may or may not need. The overstocking leads to the loss in the amount of food that could have been consumed by the people in need (Aschemann-Witzel et al., 2015). The planning and the proper maintenance of consumption can prevent a considerable food wastage.

The Supply Chain: The losses in the supply chain is one of the major problems of the food wastage. Ill maintained temperature or lack in the understanding of the longevity of the product causes a major food wastage in the society (Göbel et al., 2015). The packing flaws is also a major contributor to the food wastage in the condition. The lack of the proper packing makes food go bad quickly leading to loss of the food.

Over merchandizing and Over Stocking: Overstocking of the food by a number supermarkets to cater to the needs of their consumers leads to loss in the majority of food quantity. The majority of the food that is stocked in the supermarket are restocked with the freshest product that arrives. If the products that are already there have not been sold, they are simply removed irrespective of their expiry or the use by dates (Teller et al., 2018). This is a major problem in the modern society with the fanaticism of buying the freshest food in the society.

Over preparation of the foods in Hotels and Events: The food that are prepared in the different restaurants, hotels and events are made to cater to a population which cannot be assessed beforehand. Therefore, in these cases the managers choose to stick to preparing the maximum amount with a few extras to avoid the shortage (Pirani & Arafat, 2016). This causes one of the major food shortages in the society as the amount of food that has already been prepared have a low shelf life and go bad quickly.

Food Safety Policies: The food safety policies are strict norms that are to be followed to meet the requirements of quality to make the food fit for consumption (Papargyropoulou et al., 2014). In most cases the standards are too strict of the various producers use too strict methods for the determination of the quality leading to a major food loss in the society.

Remedial Measures for Food Wastage

Loss during Production: There is a large amount of food that is lost in the society during the various stages of production due to lack of experience of the farmers of natural elements (Dou et al., 2016). This can be prevented by proper training of the farmers or preventing the natural elements like pests from affecting the crops.

Therefore, it can be said that there are a number of reasons of the food wastage in the society. The factors not alone but as a culmination of the factors act as a major contributor to the food loss in the society.

                          

                                                          (Source: Fao.org, 2017)

The amount of the food wasted globally is much more in the continents with developing countries in comparison to the continents with developed countries. The amount of food wastage in the developed countries is less than developing countries because of awareness in the society about food development in literate and aware society. Food wastage in majority of the countries are a result of ill management of food and planning. The food wastage is also linked to infrastructure and the amount of information that the people in the society have about food management. Therefore, the food wastage in low literacy level countries and ones with improper infrastructure is considerably more.  The African countries are relatively poor and have a high hunger ratio in comparison to other countries. Despite this they show a considerable high rate of wastage of the food in production and retailing sector. The second highest rational loss of food in the supply chain is seen in South East Asian countries which are also relatively poor and lack proper infrastructure. Developed continents like North America, Europe and Oceania have a relatively low loss in the supply chain due to the developed and planned way of handling the supply chain of the food. Despite being rationally low than the other continents it is very high in a number of countries. This ratio has to be considerably decreased to attain a proper availability of the food for the people in the society. The reduction in supply chain losses will also help in bringing down the prices of food.

                                         

                                                             (Source: Statista.com, 2015)

The food wastage globally should analyze the various kinds of food that is wasted in their different forms. It seen that the roots and tubers are the major kinds of the food that are wasted during production and processing. This is majorly due to the standards in quality of food that is being produced. These food products are also under the purview of the food wastage due to the production standards maintained by different countries and food supply chains. Moreover, the tubers and root are easily affected by a number of diseases and pests which affects their overalls production. The second most wasted product wasted globally are fruits and vegetables. They also have a high ratio of contribution from the consumer along with the suppliers and producers. The consumers are very high contributors in the food wastage relating to the fruits and vegetables as they have an affinity of overbuying the products and often avoid consuming them after a certain period of time. Improper storage also leads to the ripening or drying off of the products leading to loss in food. Fishes, seafood and the meats have a low shelf life and need proper planning of the supply chain to reach the consumers quickly and efficiently, leading to their loss. The dairy products on the other hand have a low shelf life and require certain controlled environments. The taste of the dairy products also changes with time because of which consumers avoid having them after a period of time. The cereals and pulses have a high rate of loss due to the lack in the proper maintenance and upkeep of the food.

France’s Policy of Giving Away Wasted Food

                            

                                                                   (Sources: Environment.gov.au, 2017)

The food flow in the Australian society has to undergo a number of steps to reach the end-users in the society. The amount of food that is produced has to undergo a large supply chain to reach consumers in the cities from the villages. The supply chain and the different marketing agencies have a major role to play in the maintenance of the quality of the product. Due to this the production of food and the supply chain is greatly affected leading to loss in food worthy of consumption. The wastage of the food ending up in the landfills and fodder for animals is creating major issue of food wastage in the society. Supply chain management of edible food products should be done keeping the quality of product in mind to alleviate the issue.

                            

                                                            (Sources: Environment.gov.au, 2011)

The amount of the food that is wasted vary in the different districts of Australia depending of the consumer perspectives and the supply chain management in the area. The gradual increase in the amount of Food wastage in New South Wales is majorly due to the increase in amount of food that is wasted in the larger stores and consumers. To mitigate this NSW government started “Love Food Hate Waste” program (environment.gov.au 2011).

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