Introduction
In the contemporary world, with its continuously growing birth rates and developing international industries, the problem of overconsumption is presented evidently. It is possible to observe that this issue has an immense impact on the majority of aspects of modern life. Overpopulation demands more goods and services for a greater number of individuals, and the companies, trying to meet the demand, tend to overproduce, which leads to the exhaustion of the natural resources and the pollution of the environment. It is evident that the overconsumption of food products (and, accordingly, the growing amount of food waste) is one of the most important aspects of the issue under consideration. Therefore, the goals of this paper are: (1) to identify the problem of food overconsumption, (2) to discuss the critical factors which influence the development of the given issue, (3) to propose a solution, and (4) to observe possible challenges and limitations, related to the implementation of the solution.
Identification of the Problem
Historical Changes in the Food Industry
First of all, it essential to identify the problem under consideration and to elaborate on its principal aspects. One of the most important causes which led to the current situation was the changes in agricultural practice that took place in the second half of the 20th century (Kearney 2010). Developed countries became more capable of providing greater amounts of food with less seasonal dependence. Since the average income level increased and the food prices were reduced, more significant diversity of nutrition products became available for a wider amount of people from different classes. The combination of the mentioned factors is the causal aspect of the contemporary growing level of overconsumption.
Statistics and Trends
Further, the most common trends in the given issue are to be discussed. In his profound research of the subject matter, Kearney (2010) employs two primary sources of information about food consumption: food balance sheets and individual dietary surveys. Based on this data, he implemented large-scale research, which covers the nutrition patterns on global, regional, and inter-country levels. In general, Kearney (2010, p. 2794) notices that the worldwide amount of food consumption per person has been improved, rising from 2411 to 2789 kcal per person per day between 1969/1971 and 1999/2001 respectively. However, the author observes that several developing countries are still experiencing the problem of under-nutrition. Further, he focuses on the topic of overconsumption. He distinguishes the following categories of food products: (1) cereals, (2) meat, (3) dairy products (eggs, milk, etc.), (4) fish, (5) vegetables, roots, tubers, fruits, and (6) energy providers (vegetable oils, animal fats, and sugar) (Kearney 2010).
Observations and Projections
Assessing the results of his research, Kearney makes some notable observations. He notices that there was a threefold increase (62%) in the consumption of meat products on a worldwide scale since 1963 (Kearney 2010, p. 2796). Another trend which he mentions is the growing overconsumption of wheat, compared to other cereals. On the contrary, the intake of dairy products (most notably, milk) has shown a significant decrease, compared to the consumption of carbonated beverages and juices (Kearney 2010). Concerning the category of vegetables and fruits, it is possible to notice that, compared to the levels of production, the intake of this type remains to be significantly declining on a worldwide scale. Summarising the facts mentioned above, one could argue that the global trends of consuming food products are particularly worrying. The following sections will discuss the factors which have a direct impact on the growing overconsumption rates.
Discussion of the Principal Factors
Since the common trends in consuming the food products were discussed, it is possible to identify the factors which have a significant impact on the development of the given issue. Firstly, the results of the research by Kearney will be employed to describe the external factors because they primarily drive the rate of overconsumption. The researcher argues that the following causes are influencing the given issue: income, urbanization, the impact of transnational food corporations, food industry marketing, consumer attitudes, and behavior (Kearney 2010). Secondly, the role of self-control in food intake will be observed since it is the internal factor that also contributes to the problem under consideration.
Level of Income
As it was already mentioned, the global level of income has grown significantly over in recent decades. Kearney (2010, p. 2802) suggests that this level is projected to grow at a rate of 2% annually. He also mentions that the developing countries are expected to grow even faster since their economies are expanding twice as fast as in industrial countries (Kearney 2010). Even though it is evident that higher income increases the availability of diverse and healthy nutrition, there are additional factors that influence an individual’s dietary patterns. For example, well-educated people are capable of developing a healthy diet, while people from lower classes tend to make adverse food choices since they have limited access to nutritional education (Kearney 2010).
Urbanization
The amount of people residing in urban areas has grown immensely from the beginning of the 20th century, with the increase from 10 to 50 percent of the global population (Kearney 2010, p. 2802). This factor appears to be one of the most influencing among others since urban habitation conditions have a vastly negative impact on dietary patterns. The process of urbanization has numerous consequences for the consumption of food products. First of all, the developed infrastructure makes the distribution of the supplies more efficient. Secondly, the greater impact of mass media in urban areas leads to improved and more influencing marketing. Thirdly, it is important to mention that urban workplaces require significantly lower amounts of energy than the jobs in rural areas, and, therefore, the higher risk of obesity and diabetes is developed (Kearney 2010).
Transnational food corporations
Another important factor that should be mentioned is the influence of transnational food corporations (TFCs), including franchises and manufacturers such as McDonald’s, KFC, Kraft, and others (Kearney 2010). Their products and services immensely shape the modern lifestyle, and, in particular, they have a significant impact on the dietary patterns. This process directly correlates with the globalization of the food industry. Fast-food meals, rich in calories and easy in processing and manufacturing, replaced the traditional nutrition patterns.
Food industry marketing
Further, it is essential to mention another driving factor of the overconsumption problem, which is food industry marketing. It is possible to state that, recently, very profound changes took place in the marketing and distribution of nutrition products. The aggressive marketing and promotion by the growing supermarket networks along with TFCs vastly contributed to the changing of dietary and consuming patterns (Vartanian, Kernan & Wansink 2017). For example, beverage consumption in the United States has changed dramatically over the last 50 years due to massive advertising and additional subsidies from the producers of corn syrup (Kearney 2010). This example shows that the food industry marketing is capable of changing an individual’s nutrition patterns.
Behavioral patterns of the consumers
Finally, it is important to mention the internal factor, influencing the rates of overconsumption, which is consumer attitudes and behavior. It is evident that the decisions of an average consumer are vastly impacted by external factors, such as level of income, availability of different nutrition options, and aggressive marketing. However, personal-psychological, and behavioral patterns along with self-control are also important elements, contributing to overconsumption. For example, stressful and chaotic nutrition environments can have a significant adverse impact on personal dietary patterns, which leads to overconsuming food products (Vartanian, Kernan & Wansink 2017).
Proposing the Solution
Since the problem of food, overconsumption was identified, and the current trends and driving factors were analyzed, it is possible to propose a solution for the given issue. One could argue that inadequate consumption of the nutrition products results not only in the exhaustion of natural resources and development of health issues but also in the immense amounts of food waste, which results in pollution of the environment (Alexander & Moran 2017). Therefore, it is proposed that the first stage of fighting with overconsumption is the reduction of individual impact on the environment by organizing the disposal of food waste efficiently. It is evident that large amounts of food are wasted due to the inability of an individual to consume everything that he or she buys. Thus, it is possible to contribute to the surpluses of food to organizations such as public shelters. Another policy that could be implemented is the promotion of nutrition education since many people are not aware of healthy dietary patterns.
Possible Challenges and Limitations
In the previous section, two possible solutions for the problem of overconsumption were proposed. Nevertheless, it is essential to discuss limitations and challenges, which can emerge in the process of implementing. First of all, the positive outcomes of reducing the food disposal are limited because this policy primarily works on the individual and local scale, but it does not contribute much to the decreasing of global pollution (Alexander & Moran 2017). Secondly, it is possible to observe that the promotion of nutrition education is significantly challenging since it vastly depends on the current educational level of an individual. It means that it would be more complicated for people from lower classes to develop healthy dietary patterns.
Conclusion
Finally, it is essential to come to several conclusions. First of all, the current trends in the consumption of food products were discussed and analyzed. Secondly, it is evident from this assessment that there are numerous factors which influence the overconsumption in the contemporary world. Thirdly, there were proposed two solutions, which aim to reduce the levels of over-consuming, and their limitations and challenges were discussed. In general, it is possible to conclude that the issue of overconsumption appears to be one of the contemporary global problems which demand the solution.
Reference List
Alexander, P & Moran, D 2017, “Rethinking food waste for a healthier planet’, The Lancet Planetary Health, vol. 1, no. 5, pp. 170-171.
Kearney, J 2010, ‘Food consumption trends and drivers’, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, vol. 365, pp. 2793-2807.
Vartanian, LR, Kernan, KM & Wansink, B 2017, ‘Clutter, chaos, and overconsumption: The role of mind-set in stressful and chaotic food environments’, Environment and Behavior, vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 215-223.