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Time To Rethink Our Supersized Society

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 6, 2008

Here's a better solution for people stockpiling food supplies because they fear a shortage: Eat less.

Let's face it. Most of us get more rice, white bread and processed-flour products than we need. Think about the last time you ordered a plate of Tampa's favorite chicken-and-yellow rice. You probably threw away enough to feed a second person.

The average American family throws away 14 percent of its food, worth about $600 each year, a University of Arizona study found.

The biggest wasters are restaurants and convenience stores, where as much as 50 percent of food is trashed. That equates to 27 million tons a year at a cost of $30 billion.

The U.N. World Food Program says the amount of discarded food in the United States could satisfy "every empty stomach" in Africa.

If that's not bad enough, food sent to landfills accounts for about one-third of the country's methane-gas emissions, says the Environmental Protection Agency.

Rising food prices hurt many - especially those who rely on food stamps and food banks, or institutions such as schools. The real tragedy comes when schools cut back on fresh fruits and vegetables, while loading children up with starchy foods.

The real hurt comes when a poor family serves soda instead of milk because it's cheaper.

The rest of us can afford to cut our portions, use leftovers or skip the side of rice and the soda refill.

It may not serve the American consumer's notion of value, but for most of us, a little belt tightening would serve us well.

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