Sociology

Even though the world is full of resources that can provide the worlds needs, famine and malnutrition are still one of the pervasive issues in todays global society. The natures acres of lands and wide seas are not well cultivated to produce more food that will address the hunger in different places. A lot of people are suffering from hunger many people are dying and getting sick because they are not taking enough food when there is plenty of food in other places that can fill every persons mouth and clamoring stomach. Thus, there is an urgent need to resolve this problem. In many industrialized countries, there are a lot of wasted food and unmanaged food sources that may compensate the scarcity in some areas.

In the article One Countrys Table Scraps, Another Countrys Meal by Andrew Martin for The New York Times, he argues that there is scarcity in food and food sources in countries experiencing famine. However, some highly-industrialized countries waste a large amount of food that can be a big help to other nations. According to a government study, America is wasting an astounding amount of food. It turns out that 27 percent of Americas food waste is available for consumption however, it merely ends in their landfills. It happens everywherein supermarkets, restaurants, cafeterias, and even in the kitchen. Grocery stores discard food items because of spoilage, expiration of best before seals, and other minor cosmetic blemishes. Restaurants, on the other hand, throw unused or leftover ingredients of meals and discard leftovers of customers. Every household throws a week old food and leftovers that no one would eat. Every American is wasting a pound of food every day. In 1997, in a study conducted by the US Department of Agriculture, it was estimated that 96.4 billion pounds of edible food in the United States were never eaten. There is also a decrease in the number of food donations complemented by an increase in people showing up in feeding programs (Martin, 2008). These food wastes could have saved a lot of people in getting to bed with an empty stomach or a child in Africa that is walking miles for the feeding program for a bowl of soup. These food wastes also show that there is enough food for everyone in the world.

Critique
The article is a good eye opener to many people and makes them aware of the current situation of world hunger in the global setting. The article mainly discusses the wasted food in some countries that can be a meal in places suffering in hunger. The article is well-written with a striking lead. It appears balanced and unbiased even though it is arguing a point, as the author solicited opinions from the stakeholders of the issue. The social issue discussed is timely and of global concern. The argument is strong and clear, and the article is very informative. The author has a concrete idea and convincing arguments. These ideas and arguments are well-organized in an order that readers will understand the issue presented and will keep them reading the article up to the end. However, the author should get more recent facts and figures to be able to show the readers of the current status of the world hunger and food wastes.

Personally, I agree with the authors claim that there is a great amount of food wastage in some industrialized countries like the United States that can resolve the famine problem in other countries. I believe that some people are eating more than what they can chew whereas some people are getting hungry. It is time to reflect on our eating habits as well as in our food preparations. We may be discarding too much edible food that can make a big difference if we cut down on food items that we do not consume and trim down the number of servings to a number that will be consumed and without leftovers that no one will eat.