Do you know that over 1/3 of all food produced in the world goes to waste? According to the United Nations (UN), every year around the world, about one billion (十亿) tons of food is wasted. At the same time, there are nearly one billion people who go hungry. Simply 1/4 of the food wasted is enough to keep them out of hunger. In addition, the wasted food produces over three billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂), which speeds up climate (气候) change. What can we do to solve this food waste problem?

One effective solution is balancing food production with demand (需求). In hotels and other similar places, special instruments should be used so that cooking specialists just prepare and cook food as it is ordered.

Another effective solution is starting programs to reduce (减少) food waste. Stores and buyers can try their best to be creative in food waste reduction. For example, stores can provide customers with instructions telling them how to make full use of food. Buyers can try not fixing their eyes only on food of the best quality (质量). Sometimes, the food of non-top quality is also good enough to eat, or can be bought and then used to make delicious dishes.

One of the hardest solutions to achieve is for each and every one to buy and prepare food with a plan of their own so that less food is wasted. Challenging as it is, the use of meal plans in preparing food can play an important role in ending food waste in the family.

Food recycling is one of the known solutions. Efforts are now already in progress. Food that is not safe for humans to eat is recycled into other products such as animal feeds and clothing. Yet, there is still a long way to go and much for improvement in this area.

In a word, food waste has been one of the biggest problems in the world that have influenced us greatly. Many solutions have been found and many more are yet to be worked out. If each of us can put in more efforts, food waste is sure to be reduced for the good of our future.