Level 2 l Intermediate

Transcription

1 1 Warmer What kinds of food do people often throw away? Do you waste food? Why? Why not? 2 Key words Complete the sentences using these key words from the text. The paragraph numbers are given to help you. campaign unintentional bin malnutrition consumer momentum retailer dairy resources edible 1. products include milk and foods that are made from milk. (para 1) 2. is a medical condition in which you are weak or ill because you do not eat enough. (para 1) 3. If an action is, it is not deliberate or planned. (para 3) 4. A is someone who buys and uses products and services. (para 3) 5. A is a person or company that sells things directly to the public for their own use. (para 3) 6. are things such as coal, trees and oil that exist in nature and can be used by people. (para 7) 7. If food is, it is safe or good enough to eat. (para 8) 8. A is a container for putting rubbish in. (para 9) 9. A is a series of actions intended to produce political or social change. (para 10) 10. is progress or development that is becoming faster or stronger. (para 11) 3 Find the information Find the following information in the text as quickly as possible. 1. How much food is wasted around the world each year? 2. By how much will food production have to increase by 2050? 3. Which four countries waste the most food? 4. What percentage of all food purchased is thrown away in developed countries? 5. What is the most wasted food in the UK by weight? 6. How much does food waste cost each family in the UK each year?

2 Cutting food waste by a quarter would mean enough for everyone, says UN Kate Lyons 12 August, If the amount of food wasted around the world were reduced by just 25%, there would be enough food to feed all the people who are malnourished, according to the UN. Each year, 1.3bn tonnes of food, about a third of all that is produced, is wasted. This includes about 45% of all fruit and vegetables, 35% of fish and seafood, 30% of cereals, 20% of dairy products and 20% of meat. Meanwhile, 795 million people suffer from severe hunger and malnutrition. 2 The UN identifies the problem of food waste as one of the great challenges to achieving food security. By 2050, food production will have to increase by 60%, compared to 2005 levels, to feed a growing global population. Reducing food waste would help to meet future demand. 3 The problem is global but appears in very different ways. In developing countries, there is a lot of food loss, which is unintentional waste, often due to poor equipment, transportation and infrastructure. In wealthy countries, there are low levels of food loss but high levels of food waste, which means food is thrown away by consumers because they have purchased too much or by retailers who reject food because of strict standards of appearance. 4 In developed countries, consumers and retailers throw away between 30% and 40% of all food purchased, whereas, in poorer countries, only 5% to 16% of food is thrown away. 5 In the developing world, food waste is almost non-existent, says Robert van Otterdijk, coordinator of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization s Save Food programme. Food waste is happening in countries where people can afford to throw away food. But, on the other hand, there are a lot of food losses in developing countries because of the underdeveloped conditions they have. 6 The environmental impact of food loss and waste is high. The carbon footprint of food produced and not eaten is estimated at 3.3 gigatonnes of CO 2 this means that, if food waste were a country, it would be the third highest emitter of greenhouse gases after the US and China. About 30% of available agricultural land is used to grow or farm food that is subsequently wasted. And more surface and groundwater is used to produce wasted food around the globe than is used for agriculture by any single country, including India and China. 7 Climate change is caused by our economy of production and consumption because it is out of balance with what the Earth can provide, says van Otterdijk. Production of food is one of the biggest production sectors in the world and, if one-third of all this is wasted, you can imagine what a huge effect this has on the natural resources on land, water, energy and greenhouse gas emissions. 8 The places that waste the most food are the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where consumers waste 39% of all food purchased. Next is Europe, where about 31% of all food purchased by consumers is thrown away. In the UK, 15m tonnes of food is lost or wasted each year. British consumers throw away 4.2m tonnes of edible food each year. This means that 11.7% of all food purchased is wasted, which costs each family 700 a year. 9 The foods most commonly found in British bins are bread, vegetables, fruit and milk. The most wasted food in the UK by weight is bread, with consumers throwing away 414,000 tonnes (22.4%) of all bread purchased. By percentage, the most wasted food is lettuce and leafy salads, of which consumers throw away 38% (64,000 tonnes) of all they buy. 10 The UK has made progress in the past ten years after a campaign to reduce waste. Van Otterdijk says the UK has been very successful in combating food waste. Between 2007 and 2012, the amount of food waste produced by UK households decreased by 21%, from 5.3m tonnes to 4.2m tonnes, largely due to greater awareness. 11 Van Otterdijk says there has been a very encouraging, unexpected, continuing interest in food waste and this enables campaigns around the world to gain momentum. We have to do much more and it needs the participation of public and private sectors, he says. But, if it continues like this, maybe, after ten years, we ll have globally significant results. Guardian News and Media 2015 First published in The Guardian, 12/08/15

3 4 Comprehension check Are these statements true (T) or false (F) according to the text? 1. A reduction of just one quarter in the amount of food wasted around the world would be enough to feed all the people suffering from malnutrition. 2. Bread is the food most often thrown away around the world. 3. Food loss is food thrown away by consumers because they have bought too much. 4. Food waste emits more greenhouse gases than the US and China. 5. Robert van Otterdijk thinks the UK has been successful in reducing food waste. 6. In the UK, consumers throw away more than 40% of all the lettuce and leafy salads they buy. 5 Find the word Find the following words and phrases in the text. 1. an adjective meaning weak or ill because you do not eat enough food (para 1) 2. a two-word noun phrase meaning a situation where all people have access to enough food (para 2) 3. a noun meaning the set of systems within a country that affect how well it operates (para 3) 4. an adjective meaning rich (para 3) 5. a verb meaning buy (para 3) 6. a two-word noun phrase meaning the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of human activities (para 6) 7. a verb meaning do something to try to stop something bad from happening or a bad situation from becoming worse (para 10) 8. an adjective meaning giving you confidence or hope (para 11) 6 Two-word phrases Match the words in the left-hand column with those in the right-hand column to make phrases from the text. 1. carbon 2. greenhouse 3. dairy 4. environmental 5. developing 6. food a. countries b. footprint c. waste d. gases e. impact f. products

4 7 Word-building Complete the table using words from the text. noun adjective 1. environment 2. globe 3. agriculture 4. success 5. leaf 6. nature 8 Discussion Discuss the following statements. Supermarkets should be required by law to give unsold food to charities. Developed countries should give food to developing countries.

5 KEY 2 Key words 1. dairy 2. malnutrition 3. unintentional 4. consumer 5. retailer 6. resources 7. edible 8. bin 9. campaign 10. momentum 3 Find the information billion tonnes 2. 60% 3. the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand 4. between 30% and 40% 5. bread Two-word phrases 1. b 2. d 3. f 4. e 5. a 6. c 7 Word-building 1. environmental 2. global 3. agricultural 4. successful 5. leafy 6. natural 4 Comprehension check 1. T 2. F 3. F 4. F 5. T 6. F 5 Find the word 1. malnourished 2. food security 3. infrastructure 4. wealthy 5. purchase 6. carbon footprint 7. combat 8. encouraging