We believe that these concepts will not only prevent confusion later on in the paper, but also give the reader a better understanding of our project in general.
Food Waste.
Our project is about food waste in the UK, which makes it quite important for us to define what food waste in fact is. We have chosen to use the definition by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, which states as follows: "Food which is fit for consumption being discarded, usually at retail and consumer level. This is a major problem in industrialized nations, where throwing away is often cheaper than using or re-using, and consumers can afford to waste food. Accordingly, food waste is usually avoidable." (FAO, 2012). .
Throughout our project we are using this concept repeatedly, which makes it important for us to explain it thoroughly. We see, as the quote above states, food waste as food and drinks which is being thrown out, even though it would be perfectly fine to consume. The food waste consists of every possible thing which could have been eaten or drunk, such as fruits and vegetables, meat, milk and juice etc. Why these things are being discarded, is something we will get into further on in our project.
On the photo we see exactly what our first concept refers to. In the garbage bins we see many wasted plums, bananas and carrots. Many of these foods look as if they may be a bit overripe, but still edible. However, fruits and vegetables are far from the only foods being wasted. (Photo: Tech And Innovation Daily).
Consumer.
According to statistics by FAO, nearly 50 percent of the overall food waste in the UK is created by the consumer (FAO.org, 2014). In order to understand this more clearly it is necessary to explain what a consumer is. According to the Oxford dictionary, the definition of a consumer is both "A person who purchases goods and services for personal use" and "A person or thing that eats or uses something.
