Imagine you’re walking through the aisles of your local Woolworths. Everywhere you go, you see perfect bundles of fruits stacked upon each other. But have you ever wondered how these fruits end up looking so perfect? In reality, only 60 to 80 percent of Australia’s harvested fruits are put up for sale. And this is all because of the strict and unnecessary cosmetic standards set by your favourite supermarket chains.
Food waste in Australia is worsening by the minute, due to the growing population, bizarre cosmetic standards and nearly-expiring foods being put up at a discount. Think Woolies, Coles, and Aldi. While shopping at these retailers, have you ever taken a moment to stop and realize how much food waste has been created in order to harvest the perfect and alluring fruits that you always encounter while shopping for groceries? Due to these circumstances, food waste management is a growing concern for Australian citizens. And the worst part is, most of us don’t even care enough or aren’t aware of the damage we are causing to our own country.
Homes and Food Waste
You may be aware that Australia is a highly populated country, with over 26 million people. This growing population is one of the main factors of increasing food waste in Australia. In case you didn’t know, excessive food loss and waste are caused due to Australia’s increased demand for food by its own people. Much of the food waste created comes from households. In fact, Australian households have been reported to waste almost 300 kilograms of food per household per year.
If Australia’s population continues to grow, it will only lead to more food being thrown in the bins. The current figure of 7.7 million meals being thrown away everyday by Australian households will continue to escalate. Hence, in order to decrease food waste, people must be made aware so that they can do their bit in managing food waste created at an individual or family level.
The Cosmetic Appeal
While walking through your favourite local supermarkets, you may have noticed that most fruits you encounter have a certain colour, shape, or size. Most people would think that this is due to how they are grown. They believe it is totally and completely normal for a banana to be measured at a perfect length. Howsoever, there is more to this than you may think. The public is not entirely aware of what really happens in the cultivation process. Almost every single food item you can discover within your local supermarket has gone through some strict cosmetic standards in order to be where they are now. It is claimed that these standards ensure safe and suitable consumption for the buyers, however, I do not believe this.
What I believe is that products of certain sizes, free of blemishes and scars are just more visually appealing. They have nothing to do with safety. Don’t you see how absurd this is? Between 20%-40% of fruit-produce in Australia is rejected before making it to shelves, and then thorn away. It disgusts me to know that popular and well-reputed supermarket chains have the audacity to set some insane food rules. Don’t they even stop to think about the amount of waste they are generating? Any sane person will agree that cosmetic standards should not be applied to foods so that food waste is curbed.
The Allure of Discounts
Have you ever seen the perked-up look on your parents’ faces when they see something put up at a discount? Caught up in their excitement, they don’t even stop to notice the early expiry date of the item they are about to purchase. A key point that most people seem to miss is that most of the products that are put up for discount are awfully close to expiry. Supermarket chains tend to use this as bait, to lure customers into their trap so that money can be spent on items that will most likely not even be consumed.
Most consumers tend to buy discounted items due to their insanely low prices. But do they even think about eating these cheap, low-quality food products? Or, do they just sit in the fridge and gather dust before being finally thrown away? Sounds crazy, right? But in reality, all of this is true. How about these supermarkets donate the nearly-expired food to poor shelters before the food reaches its expiry date instead of putting it up for sale? This way someone will be fed and people will not end up stacking their fridges unnecessarily.
Conclusion
As of 2024, Australia has been creating more than 7.6 million tonnes of food waste each year. This is more than enough to fill the Melbourne Cricket Grounds nine times. This is costing the Australian economy over $36.6 billion annually, despite 70 percent of it being perfectly edible. Around 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are caused by wasted food produce, which represents 17.5 million tonnes of CO² each year along with large quantities of methane. These numbers are huge, and they can be reduced if everyone participates.
It is high time that we play our part in the reduction of food waste in Australia and set an example for all the other nations as well.
Writer : Harman
Grade : 8 (Year 2025)
Place : Sydney, Australia
