VOA新闻杂志2023--US States Push to End Food Waste

US States Push to End Food Waste

When Sean Rafferty first worked in a food store 40 years ago, anything that was not sold got thrown out.

But on a recent day at his store near the New York City area, he was preparing boxes of bread, vegetables, and milk products to be picked up by a food bank. It is part of a program in New York State requiring larger businesses to donate food, and, if possible, reusing small, leftover¹ pieces of food.

New York is among a growing number of states trying to limit food waste. They are concerned that it is taking up space in landfills and adding to global warming. A landfill is a place for putting garbage.

Food waste including meat and vegetables releases methane² gas after being put in a landfill. And saving unwanted food helps to feed hungry families.

Worldwide, about a third of food is wasted. In the United States, it is 40 percent. The U.S. spends about $218 billion each year growing and producing food that is wasted. About 57 million metric tons goes to waste, including 47.5 million metric tons that ends up in landfills.

"What's shocking to people often is not only how much we waste ... but also the impact," said Emily Broad Leib. She is a Harvard University professor and director of the school's Food Law and Policy Clinic. "Food waste causes about 8 percent to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions⁴."

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency announced a goal of 50 percent food waste reduction by 2030.

That has led to a number of state government efforts, along with smaller, nonprofit efforts.

Ten American states and Washington, D.C. have passed legislation⁵ or created policies to reduce, compost or donate waste.

The states of California and Vermont have programs for turning people's food waste into compost or energy. Connecticut requires businesses, including larger food sellers and supermarkets, to reuse food waste. Farmers in Maryland can get a tax credit of up to $5,000 per farm for food they donate.

Several states have joined New York in creating systems for food donation. Rhode Island requires food sellers servicing schools and universities to donate any unused food to food banks. And Massachusetts limits the amount of food that businesses can send to landfills.

As of late October, New York had sent 2.3 million kilograms of food, about 4 million meals, through its Feeding New York State program. The program supports the state's 10 area food banks and is hoping to double that number next year.

"Certainly, we should be reducing the amount we waste to start with, but then we should be feeding people before we throw food away..." said Sally Rowland. She is with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.

Despite New York's success, some worry not enough is being done to meet the 2030 goal. Broad Leib and others have called for a national effort to coordinate⁶ the various state and local policies.

Kathryn Bender is a University of Delaware assistant professor of economics⁷. She said donation programs are helpful. But she worries they might put the responsibility on nonprofits, instead of businesses.

"The best solution for food waste is to not have it in the first place," Bender said. "If we don't need to produce all that food, let's not put all the resources into producing that food."

Words in This Story

global warming — n. the recent increase in the world's temperature that is believed to be caused by the increase of certain gases in the atmosphere

garbage — n. things that are no longer useful or wanted and that have been thrown out

impact — n. the act or force of one thing hitting another

greenhouse gas — n.

emission³ — n. the act of producing or sending out something from a source

compost — n. a decayed⁸ mixture of plants that is used to improve the soil in a garden

supermarket — n. a store where customers can buy a variety of foods and usually household items

 

coordinate — n. to make arrangements so that two or more people or groups of people can work together properly and well

1 leftover   

n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的

参考例句：

• These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
• Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。

2 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

3 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

4 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

5 legislation   

n.立法，法律的制定；法规，法律

参考例句：

• They began to draft legislation.他们开始起草法规。
• The liberals band together against the new legislation.自由党员联合一致反对新的立法。

6 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

7 economics   

n.经济学，经济情况

参考例句：

• He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学，该学科是很重要的。
• One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。

8 decayed   

a.腐败的，被蛀的

参考例句：

• New Shoreham, now sadly decayed, has barely 100 inhabitants. 如今已经衰落的新肖勒姆仅有100 名居民，很令人伤感。
• The place stank of decayed fish. 那地方有烂鱼的臭味。