Food Waste Impacts Climate Change

Climate change is a big global issue going on in our lives, and how we respond to it can affect it positively or negatively. There are solutions that everyone can use to help, but we also contribute daily to climate change, often without even realizing. Climate change is the increasing long-term shifts in weather patterns and temperature and helps determine what our climate will look like in the future. However, it is exacerbated by food waste due to the significant greenhouse gas emissions that it produces. What many people don’t know is that composting can fight climate change.

Climate Change Cause and How It’s Getting Worse 

The USGS sums up climate change as, “The increasing changes in the measures of climate over a long period of time.” (USGS. “What Is the Difference between Global Warming and Climate Change? | U.S. Geological Survey.” www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-difference-between-global-warming-and-climate-change) The combustion of fossil fuels used to produce energy, especially from vehicles and coal-based power plants, has been linked to climate change.  (US EPA, OW. “The Sources and Solutions: Fossil Fuels.” Www.epa.gov, 12 Mar. 2013, www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/sources-and-solutions-fossil-fuels) Burning fossil fuels means that oil, coal, and natural gas are being burned to produce energy which releases greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.

 Roz Pidcock says that the start of the atmosphere's warming goes back to the 1830s where records show the first changes in the heating of our atmosphere, but they were not noticeable at the time (Pidcock, Roz. “Scientists Clarify Starting Point for Human-Caused Climate Change.” Carbon Brief, 24 Aug. 2016, www.carbonbrief.org/scientists-clarify-starting-point-for-human-caused-climate-change/). According to Rebecca Lindsey and Luann Dahlmanf, from 1830, to 1981, the Earth was heating up at a rate of 0.14 degrees Fahrenheit per decade. Since 1981, our planet has been increasing temperature at an average rate of 0.32 degrees Fahrenheit per decade; over double what it was before 1981. (Lindsey, Rebecca, and Luann Dahlman. “Climate Change: Global Temperature | NOAA Climate.gov.” Www.climate.gov, 28 June 2022, www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-temperature)

The Impact of Climate Change 

The biggest impact climate change has on humans and the environment is that it is affecting the weather causing extreme changes such as droughts, heatwaves, sea level rise, huge storms, and many more. National Academies quotes, “Scientists identify these extreme weather events based on the historical record of weather in a particular region.” (National Academies. “Global Warming Is Making Some Extreme Weather Events Worse.” National Academies, 5 Aug. 2019, www.nationalacademies.org/based-on-science/climate-change-global-warming-is-contributing-to-extreme-weather-events)

 This is important to think about because areas with a more intense weather past are greatly affected by climate change in contrast to those regions with less severe weather events. We have to take notice of them and react. Earth could avoid overheating if we were to make an effort to slow down climate change. Since the temperature is increasing at a rapid pace, it is a difficult task and action needs to be taken now.

How Food Waste Affects Climate Change 

Food waste impacts climate change and is a problem that can be solved by composting. Food waste is food that is meant for human consumption but is thrown out, most of the time in the landfill. Amy Quinton, a science journalist, was able to report that “one-third of all the food that is produced in the world never gets eaten” and that in the United States, 30 million tons of food is wasted each year. (Quinton, Amy M. “Why Is One-Third of Our Food Wasted Worldwide?” UC Davis, 1 Oct. 2019, www.ucdavis.edu/food/news/why-is-one-third-our-food-wasted-worldwide)  This much food waste causes economic, social, and ecological costs in our world.

The rotting of food in the landfill produces a big portion of methane. Sarah Kaplan describes methane as, “a greenhouse gas at least 28 times as potent as carbon dioxide.” Methane is able to trap a lot more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide does.7 

Making A Positive Change Through Composting 

Food waste can be dealt with in an environmentally friendly manner through the act of composting.  Compost is a resource that actually reduces the methane emissions produced by food waste and other sources. Through composting, food waste is reduced. Sarah Kaplan describes how, “in compost bins, microbes convert…organic matter into nutrient-rich soil, keeping the carbon out of the atmosphere and producing valuable fertilizer.”(Kaplan, Sarah. “A Third of All Food in the U.S. Gets Wasted. Fixing That Could Help Fight Climate Change.” Washington Post, 25 Feb. 2021, www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2021/02/25/climate-curious-food-waste/) By creating rich soil, plant ecosystems will be able to thrive and support living organisms so more nutritious food can be grown.

Additionally, composting costs nearly nothing! Simply putting scraps and other biodegradable household items into compost bins significantly cuts down on the amount of trash you dispose of daily which lessens the amount of trash that would go to a landfill. Composting has an incredible effect on the environment and is an easy way for humans to help reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses going into the atmosphere.

Fight Climate Change to Fight For Our Future 

Climate change is the biggest threat to our world today which affects the environment on a massive scale, and our future. The weather shifts that climate change produces are dangerous for many regions worldwide. In the United States, one third of all the food produced is never eaten, then is thrown out in the landfills where it creates methane gas. Though food waste is a big problem, a simple and effective solution to it is composting. Spreading awareness and knowledge about climate change and composting can influence people to think more about the environment and take better care of our planet.

Josie Campo, Freshman, Terra Linda High School, San Rafael, CA 

Learn more about why food waste in the landfill is a problem by clicking here https://painted-bins.squarespace.com/the-problem.

Works Cited 

“13 Benefits of Composting: Environmental, Financial, Gardening & More.” Pela Earth, 22 Mar. 2022, pela.earth/blogs/news/benefits-of-composting. Accessed 28 Sept. 2022.

Kaplan, Sarah. “A Third of All Food in the U.S. Gets Wasted. Fixing That Could Help Fight Climate Change.” Washington Post, 25 Feb. 2021, www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2021/02/25/climate-curious-food-waste/.

Lindsey, Rebecca, and Luann Dahlman. “Climate Change: Global Temperature | NOAA Climate.gov.” Www.climate.gov, 28 June 2022, www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-temperature#:~:text=June%2028%2C%202022-.

National Academies. “Global Warming Is Making Some Extreme Weather Events Worse.” National Academies, 5 Aug. 2019, www.nationalacademies.org/based-on-science/climate-change-global-warming-is-contributing-to-extreme-weather-events?gclid=Cj0KCQjwj7CZBhDHARIsAPPWv3eCN4iyku64XxyDfxZ-SAHTzAOrMKtQfE3_JHkiI7EDbWGtYS0A1ZcaAjJaEALw_wcB.

Pidcock, Roz. “Scientists Clarify Starting Point for Human-Caused Climate Change.” Carbon Brief, 24 Aug. 2016, www.carbonbrief.org/scientists-clarify-starting-point-for-human-caused-climate-change/#:~:text=The%20instrumental%20temperature%20record%20shows.

Quinton, Amy M. “Why Is One-Third of Our Food Wasted Worldwide?” UC Davis, 1 Oct. 2019, www.ucdavis.edu/food/news/why-is-one-third-our-food-wasted-worldwide#:~:text=Nearly%20one%2Dthird%20of%20all.

University of California Regents. “Burning of Fossil Fuels.” Understanding Global Change, 2022, ugc.berkeley.edu/background-content/burning-of-fossil-fuels/.

US EPA, OW. “The Sources and Solutions: Fossil Fuels.” Www.epa.gov, 12 Mar. 2013, www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/sources-and-solutions-fossil-fuels#:~:text=oxide%20emissions%20include%3A-.

USGS. “What Is the Difference between Global Warming and Climate Change? | U.S. Geological Survey.” Www.usgs.gov,www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-difference-between-global-warming-and-climate-change#:~:text=%E2%80%9CGlobal%20warming%E2%80%9D%20refers%20to%20the