고등학교 공통영어2 (NE능률 민병천) 연계 글

At the end of lunch in many school cafeterias, students carry their trays to the trash bins with half-eaten meals still sitting on them. This familiar scene is only the last step of a long journey that food takes from the farm to the trash.

Experts use two terms for food that is never eaten: food loss and food waste. Food loss happens after the harvest but before food reaches the store. It takes place on farms, on trucks, and in the warehouses and factories where crops are stored and processed. According to the United Nations, about 13 percent of the world's food is lost in this way.

Food waste happens later, in stores, restaurants, school cafeterias, and homes. In 2022 alone, the food wasted at these places weighed more than a billion metric tons. That was nearly one-fifth of all the food available to shoppers and diners. Surprisingly, the place where most of this waste happens is not the store or the restaurant but the home. Homes produce about 60 percent of all food waste, while restaurants and cafeterias produce about 28 percent and stores about 12 percent. With so much food going to waste, the water and land used to grow it are wasted as well. The United Nations also reports that food loss and waste produce up to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Fortunately, families can cut this waste with a few easy habits. Experts suggest planning meals for the week and checking the refrigerator before going shopping. Going to the store with a list already written helps shoppers avoid buying more than they need. Food labels also play a part. In 2023, Korea replaced the "sell-by" date on most packaged foods with a "use-by" date. The new label instead shows how long food stays safe to eat when it is stored properly.

Schools can make a difference, too. Some school cafeterias have share tables where students can leave unopened milk or whole fruit for classmates who want more. Guides for schools also recommend holding recess before lunch, since students who have played first tend to eat more of their meals. Small changes like these can turn a cafeteria into a place where students return their trays with almost nothing left on them.