Food. It's something we literally can't live without. I wish everyone would think back to what they ate today. Now I'd like you to think about how much you ate today. Did you eat all the food or did you end up discarding some? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayThese are questions that most people don't ask themselves every day. But why shouldn't we? Food is an integral part of life, the crème de la crème, the apple of our eye. If food is so important, then why do we waste it? A couple of weeks ago I watched a documentary, called Just Eat It. It's about a couple, Jen and Grant, who went on a quest to find out more about food waste. They did something that most people would consider disgusting. It's been 6 months of only eating expired food and food discarded by people. Sounds crazy, right? When Jen and Grant began their journey, they expected to dig through dumpsters to find the remains of people's dishes. However, the amount of still-edible food found in the bins was incredibly terrifying. For example, Grant found this huge dumpster full of hummus. The craziest part was that the hummus still had about 3 weeks left before it was due. This documentary really made me think about how much I wasted food. It made me want to dumpster dive to see how much edible food I could find. I'm not sure if this is legal in North Carolina or not, maybe the house lawyers know? Now, imagine walking to your car from the grocery store with three bags of groceries. Imagine dropping one of your bags and leaving it there. This is equivalent to how much food we waste. According to a USDA study, Americans wasted 31 percent of the food produced in 2010, for a total of $161 billion, more than even Trump did. However, food waste doesn't just affect consumers. 30% of the harvested crops don't even make it to the store. Farmers discard the parts to make the food more aesthetically pleasing. This is due to people's state of mind when purchasing products. We want our fruit and vegetables to look bright and perfect. I admit it. I tend to avoid buying bruised apples and oddly shaped potatoes. Although, in reality, imperfect-looking products are still edible and delicious. For example, Intermarche, a grocery store in France, started selling strange-looking products at a 30% discount. This was a successful campaign to raise awareness of food waste in France. I think a venture like this could be successful in America too. Not only is food waste an economic problem, but it also has harmful effects on the environment. One of the biggest problems with food waste is how it ends up in landfills. When food decomposes, it produces methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas that captures heat in the atmosphere 20 times more than carbon. It doesn't help that landfills also produce toxins that can leak into the water system. Additionally, the type of food we waste can have a huge effect on the environment. 33% of the food the average American wastes is meat. Not only is the livestock industry already unsustainable, but meat is the most wasted food group. The amount of water needed to produce a beef burger is an hour and a half, the same amount of water needed to take a shower. Intensive farming is also one of the major producers of methane, together with landfills. By adding just these two examples, food waste becomes one of the main reasons for the.