The average consumer in a developing country wastes 24 pounds of food. In comparison, the average western consumer wastes about 220 pounds. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps

As food prices soar, one culprit might be our relationship with the landfill.

About one billion tons of food is wasted yearly, according to the UNFAO. The average consumer in a developing country wastes 24 pounds of food. In comparison, the average western consumer wastes about 220 pounds.

Last year, food prices reached the highest levels globally since the UN’s FAO indexing began in 1990. This year, food prices could rise another 20 percent. And when food prices rise, food insecurity follows, impacting rich and poor countries alike.

The recent increase in food prices can be explained by several factors: growing energy demands, population pressures, and a series of particularly severe weather events, according to the New York Times. In 2010, crops perished from wildfires in Russia, floods in Pakistan, cyclones in Australia, and severe droughts in Latin America. But despite these natural explanations, one of the largest burdens to addressing food insecurity is waste, — 30-50 percent of food produced is wasted globally.

But reasons for wasting food differ greatly across the world. Rich countries waste due to habit. Poor countries waste due to inadequate storage, according to a special report by The Economist.

Without proper equipment to store food, farming regions in poor countries waste the most -- involuntarily. Silos, transportation vehicles, and refrigerators are all essential for storing crops, along with preventing dairy and vegetables from spoiling. But these materials are expensive. Kanayo Nwanze, head of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, tells the Economist that in poor countries, losses from wasted food could be cut in half. But this requires large investment in agricultural infrastructure.

In contrast, waste from wealthier countries can be explained by habit. In the U.S., food insecurity is not an apparent problem with food being so affordable and available. Average Americans spend 10 percent of their income on food. In poor countries, it's closer to 70 percent. Poor countries conserve because they have to; rich countries waste because they can.

The solution: poor countries need heavy investment and rich countries need behavioral change. Laurie Garrett, CFR’s Senior Fellow for Global Health, says food production in the developing world needs dramatic improvement and greater efficiency in “every aspect of farming, harvesting, delivery, and distribution." As for rich countries, a greater appreciation of the food crisis might be necessary.

We don't have to waste. Unless poor countries receive greater investment and rich countries avoid being liberal with the landfill, food prices are unlikely to drop.

Photo: greenhem (flickr)

Plastic bags have long been associated with litter and waste. The world uses tens of billions of plastic bags every year – bags that end up hanging from trees, traveling along freeways, escaping garbage cans and waste dumps.

Plastic-bag recycling rates are extremely low – about 1 to 3 percent worldwide, according to Reusablebags.com.

While plastics have helped us in many ways – medical advances, for one – by now we are seeing an increasing amount of wasteful uses. The mass production and ubiquitousness of plastic bags has hit a nerve in many developing countries. Lawmaking bodies in every region of the world have begun to regulate the use of plastics — and some are even banning the use of plastic bags outright.

Here's a partial list:

India. In August 2005, the state of Maharashtra initiated a bag ban after bags "blocked sewage and drainage systems during record monsoon rains," according to The Guardian. "Flooding and landslides killed more than 1,000 people in the state.” Anyone seen with a plastic bag can be fined 1,000 rupees, or about $25.

Kenya. The East African nation has enforced new regulations banning production and distribution of light-density bags, according to Nairobi's Business Daily (as reported by allAfrica.com). Three years ago, Kenyan researchers had appealed for a ban, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai had argued that plastic bags can lead to malaria, because discarded bags left outside can fill with rainwater and breed disease-carrying mosquitoes.

Uganda and Tanzania. Kenya's neighbors also banned the use of all disposable one-use plastic bags nationwide. One Ugandan blogger wrote that “This seemingly radical step has a direct connection to human health and also to environmental well-being of citizens across Africa. Apart from the fossil fuel usage needed in their production, plastic bags have a remarkable ability to pollute across borders.”

China. Authorities announced that by this June, one-use plastic bags will be outlawed in the hope that residents will return to their old habit of using cloth bags and baskets. "Beijing residents appeared to take the ban in stride, reflecting rising environmental consciousness and concern over skyrocketing oil prices," reports National Geographic.

Some developed nations also have taken drastic steps to reduce the impact of plastics. Ireland, for example, imposed a 33-cent tax in 2002. It worked quickly to depress demand. According to the New York Times, the use of plastic bags dropped 94 percent within weeks.

The Economist recently took a look at how the process of recycling is helping to sustain one community in India. The dalits, a lower caste of Hindu, are participating in an economy that not only provides them with income, but helps to reuse some of India's waste.

Disposable plastic cups are many times reborn in Dharavi. In a spiralling continuum, they are discarded and gathered in, melted down to their polypropylene essence, and re-moulded in some new plastic form. Recycling is one of the slum's biggest industries. Thousands of tonnes of scrap plastic, metals, paper, cotton, soap and glass revolve through Dharavi each day.