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Elizabeth Shive S. Thomas UWRT 1102 22 February 2016

The document is a student's proposal paper for a research project on food waste in America. It discusses the student's research question of what the major contributors to food waste are in the US and what citizens can do to lower waste. The student describes their process of selecting this topic based on a personal interest in reducing waste and joining their school's Food Recovery Network. They discuss sources they will use for research, including documentaries and databases, and pose additional questions about food waste they hope to address through further research.

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66 views

Elizabeth Shive S. Thomas UWRT 1102 22 February 2016

The document is a student's proposal paper for a research project on food waste in America. It discusses the student's research question of what the major contributors to food waste are in the US and what citizens can do to lower waste. The student describes their process of selecting this topic based on a personal interest in reducing waste and joining their school's Food Recovery Network. They discuss sources they will use for research, including documentaries and databases, and pose additional questions about food waste they hope to address through further research.

Uploaded by

api-316445702
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Elizabeth Shive

S. Thomas
UWRT 1102
22 February 2016
I would give myself a 96 for this proposal. I have addressed all the questions including
significance, context, plan for further research etc. Throughout my paper, I have tried to make
my paper engaging and relatable. I edited my first draft to create this second version using the
suggestions given to me during the peer review session.

I am genuinely proud of the final draft of my proposal paper. The small group peer
review was beneficial to me. As result of the instructor and peer review, I decided to search
online for more concrete facts that might appeal to my audience. I was encouraged to use more
statistics in order to make the amount of food waste in America more relatable. Also, reading my
paper out loud allowed me to find sentences that made sense while reading to myself, but were
confusing or wordy in reality. The information I discovered while researching food waste barely
scratched the surface, so I am excited to dig deeper into this issue. I enjoy documentaries so it is
no surprise I am eager to begin watching the two food waste documentaries I have chosen to
begin my research. The library is going to be a great source to find information on food waste
that is written by experts. I had a little difficulty wording my question in a way that I could fully
explore it, but I feel as if my question was a success. I am not as concern about my thesis paper
as I was prior to writing my proposal, but I do still have a few concerns. How will I organize my
thesis paper in a sensible, coherent manner? And the concern most all students have at this time:
How will I get my thesis paper long enough to fit the length requirement? However, above all, I

am ready to get working on my thesis paper and I am anticipating a meaningful writing


experience from which I can learn and grow.

Waste not, Want not


Growing up, my mother would always tell me not to put more food on my plate than I
could eat. Even on at the campus dining halls, I try to only get food that I know I will eat. Ive
even forced myself to eat unappetizing morsels in loo of adding to the already abundance of food
left on plates. This led me to wonder about the waste, specifically food waste. I have decide to
research the question: What factors are major contributors to the national food waste and what
can we as citizens do to lower this massive waste? Using the question, I can not only discover
how food waste has become engrained in our society, but I can use my research to argue a
solution.
When someone hears the words food and waste together, they typically start to zone out.
Most people have a certain degree of awareness about the estimated 70 billion pounds of food
wasted each year, but they dont understand the magnitude of the problem. The idea that one
plate of waste food per individual can accumulate is not brought into consideration. People
believe that they can just throw away their leftover food and it wont impact the overall food
waste. However, this close mindedness is the wrong attitude to adopt as a citizen. Imagine how
much the food waste could be lowered if people only put on their plates what they could
consume at that meal. Groceries stores and restaurants could also contribute to this lowering of
the mindless wasting of food by donating unsold food. With proper storage and refrigeration,
along with mindfulness concerning which foods need to be consumed the earliest, food could be

transferred to those in need before it spoils. A new mindset could revolutionize the approach to
fighting hunger in America.
Educating the public about food waste could influence the future of social problems such
as childhood hunger and environmental problems such as the damaging greenhouse gas methane
which is produced by the decomposition of food and other organic waste in landfills. The
Environmental Protection Agency states that the gas methane is 21 more potent than carbon
dioxide as a greenhouse gas. By becoming aware, people could start with smaller portions and go
back to get more after they finish or restaurants could donate leftover food that they can no
longer sell to food banks or soup kitchens. In 2010, 48.8 million Americans lived in foodinsecure households as stated by the Economic Research Service. The food is mindlessly thrown
out instead of putting in the work it would take to seek out a recipient who would be grateful for
these leftovers from the groceries stores and restaurants that need to be consumed within a
couple days. With food recovery programs, the percentage of annual food waste could be greatly
reduced along side of the number of households with food insecurity.
Thinking about what made me angry, I immediately was drawn to the food waste idea.
For my Citizenship class, I am a part of the food group meaning I have to volunteer with food
related organizations. Since the students in this class have to complete at least 25 volunteer
hours, I thought it would be most beneficial to me to join a club on campus. I decided to join the
UNCC Food Recovery Network. This organization is a part of a larger organization called the
Food Recovery Network. The mission of the FRN is to unite students on college campuses to
fight food waste and hunger by recovering perishable food that would otherwise go to waste
from their campuses and communities and donating it to people in need. It was in the
introductory meeting when I learned about how much food was actually wasted in America.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, 40 percent of food in the U.S. goes to
waste. This number might seem initially shocking, but upon analyzing the various ways food is
wasted the statistic begins to make sense. I have had casual conversations about how much food
is thrown away with my friends and family. I myself have been guilty forgetting leftovers in my
fridge and having to throw them out. Personal experience, the Food Recovery Network and
discussions with others allowed me to learn about food waste before deciding to begin look at
other possible researchable sources.
I first began to collect evidence that food waste was researchable by finding possible
documentaries that I could use in my thesis paper. Personally, I learn better visually rather than
trying to synthesize various readings. I found a documentary called Just Eat It. It is a
documentary about food waste and food recovery so I believe this film will work perfectly in
my paper. On Netflix, there is a documentary called Dive: Living off Americas Waste. These
film could give me a good sense of Americas general attitude toward waste. Simply typing
food waste into the google search bar generates 83.1 million results. Out of those 83.1 millions
results, I am positive that I can scavenge at least a few credible online resources. Also, I used the
keywords food and waste into the Atkins Library database and discovered several more
resources including Ted Talks, scientific journals, and essays. I am confident that I will be able to
successfully complete the next portion of this research assignment: the annotated bibliography.
This proposal has introduced more ideas and questions about food waste and food
recovery. What percentage of food waste comes from unsold produce and fruit from farms, what
percentage comes from leftover food from restaurants, what percentage comes from waste from
dining halls etc..? Also, could a nation with minimal waste ever become a reality? How does the
Food Recovery System work? What are some other food recovery programs that are becoming

implemented in America and worldwide? In my metaphorical dumpster dive, I will sift through
the abundance of research to uncover the answers to these questions and new questions that I
might form along the way.

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