Teacher & Student Materials > Feeding a Hungry Planet
How does food waste relate to environmental impacts?
45 minutes
This lesson will focus on the environmental impacts of food loss and food waste, another food aspect. Students will explore ways to include food waste in the environmental label.
This lesson is divided into two parts. The first part should be done with a labeling activity, and the latter part should be completed a few days apart from the previous one, as students need to track their food waste diaries.
All necessary background knowledge will come from this lesson.
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Materials:
Teacher slides: 3.2 How does food waste relate to environmental impacts?
Student material: 3.2 Food waste diary
Present food waste by using this video (4:52 min). Afterward, discuss with students the difference between food waste and food loss.
Because food loss is not familiar to students, they will brainstorm ways to reduce it and write their ideas on sticky notes. Afterward, they will place the sticky notes under three categories.
There is a home assignment to track students’ food waste in a diary.
Whole-class discussion
Students will share their food waste diary and the final version of the environmental food label.
Ask students to describe the information in the graph. The next slide contains a discussion question: how does the growing demand impact our planet? (based on what they have discussed in the unit so far)
Discuss what could be possible solutions for this.
Global / local dynamic
Whole-class discussion
If we need to increase food production to feed the growing population, we must develop sustainable ways to provide healthy food in the near and distant future.
Several potential solutions exist for current and future protein needs; some are still developing, while others are already available in supermarkets.
Ask students if they have tried any alternative proteins or heard of them. Among the five alternative proteins, the next lesson will focus on cultivated or cultured meat, which is not yet actively available on the market. (Background information on all of these solutions can be found here.)
This is because, as students will see on slide 12, from 2025 into the future, consumption of conventional meat will decrease while consumption of cultured meat will dramatically increase. At this point, teachers should explicitly address that cultured meat is different from plant-based proteins they may see at the supermarket, such as tofu or vegan meat.
Student backgrounds
Whole-class discussion
Background info Food Waste and Food Loss:
Food waste and food loss are both terms used to describe the loss or wastage of food, but they refer to different stages in the food supply chain.
Food loss occurs during the production, post-harvest, and processing stages of the food supply chain. It typically refers to the decrease in quantity or quality of food intended for human consumption. Food loss can happen due to various reasons such as inadequate infrastructure, improper handling, pests, diseases, and natural disasters. For example, if a farmer’s crop is damaged by pests or extreme weather conditions, resulting in a significant reduction in the amount of usable food, it would be considered food loss.
On the other hand, food waste occurs at the later stages of the food supply chain, specifically at the retail and consumer levels. It refers to the discarding or wastage of food that is still suitable for human consumption. Food waste often happens due to factors such as overbuying, improper storage, expiration dates, or aesthetic preferences. For instance, when individuals throw away expired or leftover food from their homes or when restaurants discard unconsumed food, it would be considered food waste.
In summary, food loss happens before the food reaches the consumer, during production and processing stages, while food waste occurs after the food reaches the consumer, at the retail and consumer levels. Both food loss and food waste contribute to global food insecurity, economic losses, and environmental problems, so efforts to reduce both are important in ensuring sustainable food systems.
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