The loneliness of Americans keeps surfacing in the media. At first glance, this seems odd. But, dig a little deeper and it’s easy to see why the noise of our society can be overwhelming – drowning out the one-to-one human contact that has served people well, world-wide for centuries. It is time to raise our heads, take a look around and to act.

Let’s consider just one aspect of this condition – food and infinite waste.

Magnitude of the Problem

The world produces enough food for 12 billion people according to FAO (www.fao.org) and there are currently only 6 billion of us. And yet, each year hunger and related illnesses cause some 8,760,000 people (including 5 Million children) to die. Add to that figure the 852 million people who do not have enough to eat, including people in the developed nations of this planet.

In Italy, which is renowned for its food, every Italian family according to a study conducted by ADOC (www.adoc.it) throws away an average of 584 euros a year of groceries. That equals approximately 800 U.S. dollars. The national total would run up to 4 billion euros or more than 5 billion U.S. dollars!

According to the BBC program, “Costing the Earth,” the English throw away 30-40% of the groceries they purchase for a total of 30 billion euros, which is equivalent to 40 plus billion U.S. dollars. This is enough money, according to the UN, to adequately feed 150 million Africans.

In the United States, we throw away 40-50% of the food we purchase. Evidently, it is not true that the Earth is not capable of feeding all of its inhabitants; the problem is a case of poor resource management.

Throw-Away Mindset

It seems “a basic component of food waste is our attitude toward throwing things away,” according to Guido Viale, author of a book called the Throw Away Culture.

“We are really not very careful at all about what we throw away. We are often not even interested in knowing where our food comes from or where it ends up, nor are we particularly concerned about the amount of resources and energy required to produce it. This sort of indifference tends to go hand in hand with our lack of interest in healthy food. When one loses all sense of the intrinsic nutritional value of food, one begins to shop in a compulsive manner, basing choices on superficial, potentially misleading factors like packaging and advertising. Another consideration is the reduction in conviviality associated with the meal ritual and, by extension, the reduction in food preparation times. Family members tend to come to the table at different times, often eating separately causing a breakdown in the social structure of the meal. Everyone spends a lot of time working outside the home and less and less attention is paid to the meal.”

What Mr. Viale is explaining is how we are marginalizing food, our most fundamental social link, leading to a disconnection from our planet and the people who live on it.

Dumpster Dive

Let’s dive deeper. In the real world according to ADOC, here’s what winds up in the garbage:

• 39% of all fresh products like milk, eggs, meat and cheese
• 19% of the bread purchased
• 17% of the fruit and vegetables
• 10% of prepared meats
• 4% of packaged products (salad) and pasta
• 3% of canned products
• 2% of frozen products

We all know that these realities have snuck up on us and accelerated like so many things within the last 30 years. The drivers are clear and all around us. We can be seduced by special offers and by deals. We are increasingly time compressed and will look for easy solutions. We rely on tools that extend our reach while dampening down communication where it counts – live and engaging inter-personal exchange.

Road to Renewal

We must resist and reorganize our priorities to accommodate a world that will no longer be denied. Increasingly, people around the world are educating themselves, taking back their lives and reconnecting with planet Earth. They are buying food produced locally at farmer’s markets and cooperatives, and getting to the know their neighbors in the process. More importantly, many are beginning to take back the dinner hour and talk to each other. Live. Unrehearsed. Unedited. A magical shift is starting to happen and I, for one, am glad to join the parade.

Abito is a lifestyle brand dedicated to the enhancement of living by taking an active/optimistic position with respect to our community-based, designed products. We look for the connection points – of people – within and outside of their homes. We are committed to the journey ahead and to sharing what we learn along the path. Loneliness be gone! We shed the possibility of loneliness when we reach into ourselves and choose connectivity.

—Steve Robertson, President, Abito