食物浪费造成整个供应链的损失

Food Waste Causes Losses throughout the Supply Chain

Grocery stores and other retail food sellers are losing as much as US$15 billion a year in unsold fruits and vegetables alone, with about half of the US supply going uneaten, according to an analysis on food waste by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The NRDC report found inefficiencies and losses in the US food system throughout the supply chain. Food is lost during processing, distribution, and storage on farms, in retail stores and food service operations, and at home.

Americans are throwing away 40 percent of food in the US, the equivalent of US$165 billion in uneaten food each year. Food waste has jumped 50 percent since the 1970s and is now the single largest component of solid waste in US landfills. The causes of losses in the US food system are complex, but some of the most notable problem areas are at the retail level. Most of the losses in retail operations are in perishables, such as baked goods, produce, meat, seafood, and increasingly, ready-made foods. These are then compounded by retail models which view waste as a part of doing business.

The report made a number of recommendations for businesses to reduce food waste at the farm, processing, and retail levels. For example, the NRDC suggests retailers stop the practice of overstocking their produce displays, which inherently leads to food spoilage. Also, they say that pre-cutting food, such as cheese or meat, at the processing stage may be more efficient than allowing customers to trim their own food in terms of quantity loss.

    1.     What is the main idea of this passage?

(A) There are many areas in the supply chain where food is lost.

(B) Americans throw away too much food.

(C) Prices of food have skyrocketed over the past 30 years.

(D) Most food is lost during processing.

    2.     Which kind of food is NOT mentioned as a common loss in the supply chain?

(A) Food that is previously prepared.

(B) Food that has a short lifespan.

(C) Canned foods.

(D) Food that can spoil quickly.

    3.     What is NRDC's suggestion for retailers?

(A) They need to change farmers as soon as possible.

(B) They have to be more careful about spilling drinks.

(C) They should be keeping the same policies.

(D) They shouldn't put too many foods that can spoil out on display.

食物浪费造成整个供应链的损失

根据自然资源保护署（NRDC）对食物浪费的分析，杂货店及其他食品零售商 1 年光是未卖出的蔬果就大约损失了高达 1百 50 亿美元，其中约半数美国的粮食供应连吃都没吃就被丢弃了。自然资源保护署的报告发现，美国粮食系统在整个供应链中不但没效率而且亏损连连。食品会在加工制造中、配送时、在农场储藏时、在零售店、餐饮服务操作、甚至在家中都会造成损耗。

美国人扔掉了国内约百分之四十的食物，每年没有吃的食物相当于 1 千 6 百 50 亿美元。食物浪费的情况自从 1970年代以来已激增了百分之五十，这些食物现在则是美国垃圾掩埋场中最大固态废弃物的一部份。美国粮食系统耗损的原因很复杂，但是一些最明显的问题在于零售层面。零售经营大部份的损失在于易腐坏的食品上，像是烘焙食品、农产品、肉类、海鲜及越来越多的现成食品。这些零售模式使得这些食物的耗损更加恶化，原因就在于这些零售模式把浪费的行为视为做生意的一部份。

这份报告中对企业提出了一些建议，来减少食物在农场、加工及零售 3 个层级上的浪费。举例来说，自然资源保护署建议零售商停止过份囤积农产展示品，这本质上会导致食物变质。此外，自然资源保护署也宣称将诸如起司或肉类等食品在加工阶段中预先切块，就数量耗损度而言，这么做比让顾客自己切更有效率。

答案：  1.  A   2.  C   3.  D

根据联合国世界粮农组织主导的研究报告指出，全世界超过一半的食物都是被浪费掉的。食物随处可得，让消费者对食材不再爱惜。而吃到饱的餐厅近年来也相继开幕，由于食物无限量供应，消费者拿的往往超过自己能负荷的食量，无形中造成更多食物浪费。

事实上，『吃到饱』的行为对环境也是种负担，因为食物的来源取自于大自然，当我们在土地种植过量的农作物，它的生产力很快就会殆尽。另一方面，大量食材的消费过程中，食物必须南运北送，造成交通的废气排放量愈来愈多，加速地球温室效应。整体来说，浪费食物就等于浪费耕地、水和劳动力资源。吃到饱餐厅的普及，对于食物需求量比一般店家多，可说是间接伤害了这片土地。（数据源：公民新闻平台）