Food Waste Biomass - Essay Example

Countries like the United Kingdom are continuously considering measures to divert such food waste into bio-energy. Thus, advanced biomass power technology is being developed and used for this purpose (Schill). Causes of Food Waste Generation: Food waste is generated from hotels, restaurants, and other retail shops with one of the major causes being foods that are all not being sold.

If the quality and freshness of the food products get compromised or lost, then customers tend to reject such food products. Moreover, since customers do not like waiting for their favorite food products, retail shops order more of the products, often which do not get sold entirely, thus leaving unsold foods that eventually become waste. Since the right amounts of food are often not ordered at the right time, this leads to the most losses of food. Foods also turn into waste if they are not treated or managed properly.

For instance, different food products might be required to be kept at particular temperatures which if neglected leads to waste. Incorrect mechanical handling of foods also leads to waste (Stenmarck et al 10-11). Impacts of Food Waste: The environment gets affected by food waste since natural resources are lost as a result of food waste, along with the release of greenhouse gases in the air. Also, since many people in the world need food while other food gets wasted can be associated with social impacts as well.

Thus if hotels and restaurants report food waste, they also prove to be socially not responsible and hence might not gain their position in the world of business. With the wastage of food, the other energy sources that were involved in the production of the food also get wasted (Environmental and social impacts of food waste). Food waste has also been found to have economic impacts on different countries across the world. Both consumers and retailers are affected as a result of food waste since retailers would have to pay for the cost of the food and the consumers would be made to pay through higher prices of products (Venkat 431-432).

Food Waste Reduction: From the negative impacts of food waste, it has been considered that the reduction of food waste is a prime necessity in the present times. The reduction would lead to environmental benefits like the reduction of methane from landfills, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, creation of essential soil alteration, and improvement of sanitation. Economic benefits would involve lowering costs of disposal, reduction of over-purchasing and costs of labor, and tax benefits through the donation of food (Reducing Food Waste for Businesses).

Also, feeding people who need food with the food that gets left behind would lead to social benefits proving the food companies to be socially responsible (Stenmarck et al 10-11). It is the responsibility of society to consider such measures such that the negative impacts of food waste may be reduced.