OTOH, if people wouldn’t waste food, we wouldn’t need so much food production. How many tomatoes does the average family throw out each week because they’ve let them rot? How many gallons of milk has been poured down the drain because it was left to expire? How many tons of uneaten food from restaurant plates is dumped? How many office refrigerators are filled with rotting takeout containers all because their owners are too lazy to finish off the meal the next day or take it home to the dog?
How much food do grocery stores trash because the truck delivered fresh products? Grocery stores are no longer allowed to give away produce and packged items these days due to regulations and the fear of law suits. Our grocery store used to set excess packaged products and old produce out on pallets and tables for free. Now days, only bread can be given out but even that has to be donated to the old folks home first and then the home sets it out on the curb. The big church rummage sale a few days ago had a bunch of free bread so at least that much didn’t get dumped.
I’d bet nearly half of all food produced finds it’s way to the garbage. What a waste. It’s shameful.
The problem with production is that you never know what nature is going to throw your way and then there could be very little or even none and you can’t manufacture a tomato or the wheat for a loaf of bread. The disaster could be weather, disease, or insect related.