There are at least 13 different perspectives behind the plate waste of this school lunch tray. As a Ph.D. student studying how a food system, nutrition education curriculum impacts plate waste, I count as one. The student who served, ate, and threw away what remained of their lunch, counts as two. However, what about the animals that gave their life or milk to produce the chicken, cheese, and chocolate milk? The farmer? The factory employees where the food was processed? The drivers that transported this food across the country? The natural resources that went into producing, processing, and shipping this food? The landfill workers who will be burying this food? The cafeteria cooks who prepared this food? The animals whose habitat suffers due to the climate change that is driven by our food system and food waste? The school district that decided how long school lunch should be? The parent who may buy additional groceries to feed their hungry child after school? The school nutrition expert that planned this meal? While I aspire to increase student awareness to impact food waste, human health, and planetary health, I hope individuals at home recognize their resources and privileges to do the same.
