On Food Shortage

(This blog post was produced in collaboration with FOODSOTROS & SPICESOTROS—KCUN's section dedicated to all-things food and spices.)


Looks like our parent(s)/guardian(s) were right after all: STOP WASTING FOOD. Like majority of people, many don't listen and go about their day without even thinking about what's next, which describes many people, yet here we are in 2023 despite the subtle warnings and signs. We take food for granted, given the fact that it's always available and ready to eat when ordered at a restaurant. I'm sure no one has ever thought of that one fateful day when food becomes so scarce, it'll only be available to the highest bidder(s), and that's something we can't imagine would happen. Now we may see some rules and regulations in place to try and limit food waste, and it's only a matter of time. That may sound like I'm spreading unwarranted fear, let alone spreading false information and whatnot, but it's best to be ready than to fight unprepared. Besides that, we need strict practices on limiting food waste, even if certain foods are bad for us. Wouldn't it better to share or donate such food to folks who may need it?

According to SaveTheFood.com, they reported that a whopping 40% of food gets wasted here in the US. Think about that: That's 2 dishes/portions thrown away out of every 5 served, be it homemade or store bought. What are the statistics for the other 100+ countries in this world? We're frightened to know, but this has been an on-going concern and will only get worse. We have no one to blame but ourselves, and some of these restaurants and buffets aren't helping to ease the matters. As for the home cook, I understand purchasing ingredients for a dish to whip up later, but those foods eventually get spoiled/expired and thrown away. Reports on food preservation hasn't been much help either, as news headlines focus on other issues instead of things necessary for survival (having said that, has that given you a better understanding of what's going on?). To top it all off, inflation is at an all-time high and food is becoming more expensive to get, and on the viewpoint of grocery stores, low purchases on stocked food means more items expiring and going bad. Yeah, certain foods get by with a longer shelf life, most which may contain artificial ingredients that may not be too healthy to consume, but they still expire. There's no end to this madness.



If you can "work for food," then food ought to be treated like currency.

Ask anyone if they would throw away money, and you'll immediately get hit with the answer "no." Now, if we replaced money with food, would people be willing be throw away food? Not if that were their source of income. I don't understand the notion with throwing away food, even if it's something you won't eat. Shouldn't we prepare food in a way where someone will enjoy eating it? Not caring about the food, whether you'll eat it or not, isn't a gesture of human kindness. Hunger has been a problem since civilization, and barely anyone nor any entity is working hard enough to combat it. Worse, depending on your state's/country's legislation(s), let alone the advent of algorithms the Internet employs, you won't get notified often of those feeding the poor and ideas to save food, both at home and in public. The main focus is no matter how much good we do for others, in this case, making food to reduce and eliminate hunger, we either get punished, fined or even shamed for doing such thing (in rare instances, some get killed just for being kind). Say what you want: The Good will always outweigh the Bad, and by the time that moment finally arrives, we'll learn what it's like being human and helping those who truly need uplifting. Okay, yeah, resources are becoming bought, taken and stolen, but the least we can do is know that the every struggle humanity goes through, at least food can provide us comfort every which way. Sure, you can buy the latest computers and/or the newest cell phones that can get you by, but usage of such electronics couldn't be possible without a proper diet. You can party, drive, exercise, protest, sing, read, ride a bicycle, but only if you've eaten a good meal. Deny that all you like: You can't function without food. Even if you don't eat your entire meal, is it not good enough to eat later? You'll end up hungry again. That's like spending a $100 bill on an item worth $20 thus getting $80 in change, then throwing away the $80 because "you won't need it." Makes sense when you tie this up with the whole food situation, doesn't it?

Even though I worked for about a week, I held a job at a fast food restaurant out of desperation. As I got in and was trained, one of the workers who was teaching me the ropes encouraged me to throw away food if it sits for more than 15 minutes (no joke). His reason was that food sitting after 15 minutes doesn't coincide with the restaurant's "quality policy" it's known for. While I understand that part, I can't help but refuse to follow that practice. Yes, I broke the rules: There were times when I would place the food under the heat lamps to keep the food warm, then serve it as my way to limit food waste. I did that for myself, and not to rebel nor get yelled at. I'm a believer of Karma and I know if I throw away food "just because I was told to do so," it won't affect the company but it will affect me. I don't how or what, but I know I will suffer because of it. Anyway, having worked a few days there, I was suprised at the practices in being okay throwing away food. If there were an FBI or higher-end police division that catches and/or arrest food wasters, I'm sure I'll be getting loads and loads of emails from them asking where this fast food place is I used to work at and where.

You want to know more? I used to work at a kitchen at a popular theme park, and the food waste practices there are just as bad, if not, worse. Oh and yes, witnessing some workers prepping food while sick was a nice touch; I feel bad for the restaurants serving these infected foods to guests and visitors at the park. I can't believe that this is okay behavior in the eyes of the managers and supervisors. Once again, if you're one of those folks who's so adamant on people wasting food, you may want to bookmark this page because this will not—and I mean NOT—be taken down by any nor all means. There's nothing threatening nor dangerous about this post, it's a generalized topic for discussion that deserves to be talked about, hence this blog section. (We entertain and educate here at KCUN but this section exists as a means to express, through words, what goes on through my mind. I enjoy good, intelligent conversations and the people I grew up with, are friends with and maybe even the county I currently live in are possibly the reasons I can't find nor have such conversations, so these are written [personally by me] and shared to the open Internet, hoping this appeals to someone or a small group of people to whom I can share and inform about.) While this topic as been discussed before, just not on this blog section until now, it's about time things flow through with limiting food waste. If nobody cares, then I'll ask: What are you going to eat today? What about later? Tomorrow? I'm sure you won't plan to eat insects, so...

Okay, so if high prices for food isn't making people worry about the goings-on, let alone what this might mean for the future especially for farmers working to sustain their lands for both their families and for all vendors big and small, then a short supply of them should be enough. You can't live without food, and given that this is the number one necessity to stay alive when how will people fare out? It seems we're so okay with the current state of things that there's no reason to do anything anymore. Heck, I don't even know if people have a desire to go to work, and if so, how much longer until they work to acheive what they want? Now that artificial intelligence is making its way in the forefront, I only wonder when people will finally wake up and realize something's wrong. Granted, yes, the global lockdowns affected us all, but do we really need mainstream media to tell us what's going on? Food shortage is happening right now, and with these wasteful practices that these restaurants are doing, I have a bad feeling that food available will only be given to those with a specific status or even those with no criminal records (qualifications can include almost anything, from a valid driver's license to a certain amount of income made per year). Have any of you lined up for food only to be asked that you'll only receive it if you have certain qualifications? As for laws to be put in place, how harsh will punishments be if it's "illegal" to waste food? In California, there are opportunities for homeless people to be provided food, let alone the less fortunate. That's great, but sadly it makes these people incredibly reliant on getting food instead of working for it. Worse, there's no thought or ramification if the food provided is considered fattening, too sweet nor too salty; Here's your food, enjoy. Alright, so if these homeless people were served insects and bugs, will that incentive still be considered good? Will these homeless people realize that this "reliance" wasn't all that's cracked up to be? How about this: Would dumping and throwing away insects served on a plate still be considered "food waste?" With those questions asked and proposed, it's very much, "eat this, or no food for you." Folks, this is a real issue, and if it isn't already, it will be. Again, this isn't an intent to cause fear and worry, but for someone who enjoys cooking, this is issue needs to be discussed further.

What convinced you to talk about this?

For privacy reasons and to keep the people anonymous, I won't post the video here, but back in 2018, a former high school classmate, along with her friends, had a friendly food fight during a birthday party—laughing and having fun. Nothing wrong with that, until I saw one of them grab the entire cake, threw it over her shoulder to try and hit her friend in the face with it in retaliation...and missed. Worse, all the men stood there with their cell phones recording the happening—how nice, men standing there watching two women have a food fight. There you go: That one video posted on Facebook was what made my head snap, and seeing a delicious, innocent cake being thrown then landing on the floor after a failed attempt to hit a friend of hers. Instead of smiling while watching that video, I was pissed. I don't care if it's a playful thing, but if it involves using and playing with food, you won't see me laughing. That's food, it doesn't matter the nutritional value, but it's best when eaten. I imagine the cook/chef crafting that cake/dish with love and desire, then seeing two women, who weren't even drunk, throw it all away (you ladies now know why you suffer bad luck in relationships, especially if you think it's okay to throw someone's dish away that was made with Love and Care?). Another thing I dislike is food used in erotic films. Please, there's nothing sexy about an explicit scene using food as an "aphrodisiac" rubbing it on a woman's naked body; Stop wasting chocolate and strawberries. I also see food being wasted on movie sets, where actors eat the food then spit it out after the scene is done. I'm telling you, folks: This pain has got to stop. No, I'm serious' it has to stop, otherwise, why would I be talking about this in the first place?

Oh, and this summer is turning out to be a chilly one, which means Fall and Winter this season will be freezing. This freezing cold will affect food growth and production. Thus, bringing forth the issue of a country-wide, or even a global, food shortage. Since only a few thousand people hang around this humble website of ours, those folks will be the only ones to know. As for the rest of the other people, I say God Bless. That's it.

What I do know is that one Facebook video became the reason I'm highly concerned on the wasting of food. I'm glad more and more people are becoming aware, however, not enough is being done to combat it yet. Perhaps if a food shortage is iminent, then I'm sure those girls in the video having that meaningless food fight may regret what they did (possibly get arrested, if there existed a "food police"). People love learning things the hard way. As Magus once said, a character from the hit game Chrono Trigger, "A lesson better learned sooner than later,". And that is our lesson here.

Stock up on food, before it's too late!

This is Kris speaking for Food For The Saints.

Kris Caballero

Founder of KCU Network and KCU Plus, Kris has been writing since he managed a personal blog made back in late 2005. Officially back to doing computer programming (software development) and video production, Kris enjoys reading books on Mathematics, Quantum Computing, Philosophy, playing old video/DOS games, digital video archiving, and listening to sports, public radio and classical music.

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