PRACTICE 1
Food waste
From time to time, we’re all guilty of leaving leftovers on our plate – whether it’s
because we aren’t enjoying our meal, feeling full or trying to avoid eating our
yucky vegetables. It’s normal, right? No big deal. Well actually, food waste is a
global environmental issue that is a big deal and needs resolving – and here’s 5
why.
What is food waste?
Food waste refers to any food products that are thrown away as opposed to
being consumed. Typically, this waste can be split into four categories:
• By-product waste – food by-products created through the manufacturing of 10
food types or the domestic cooking process, for example peels and trimmings
from fruit and veg.
• Expired products – food items (that are often packaged in plastic) that have
gone past their sell-by date1 in shops and supermarkets and shouldn’t be
consumed 15
• Leftovers – the waste that is created from unwanted food remains in our
households or in places like restaurants, aeroplanes, etc.
• Bakery products – unsold food items that spoil quickly.
What are the main causes of food waste?
There are many different causes of food waste. However, the leading causes 20
are:
• shops, supermarkets, or restaurants ordering too many products that do not
sell
• poor education about food waste
• lack of awareness of expiry dates. 25
Why is food waste a problem?
Food waste presents a significant problem due to the volume of waste that’s
produced each year. In fact, in the EU2 alone, it’s estimated that 89.2 million
tonnes of food are thrown away annually. The vast majority of food waste ends
up in landfill sites3 which are already full to overflowing. Many people don’t view 30
this as an issue because food items, unlike most plastics, degrade naturally over
time. However, it contributes heavily to global warming and the erosion of the
ozone4 layer. This is because food waste releases a great deal of methane gas
as it breaks down. According to a recent report, methane is 25 times more
harmful than CO2 because it can trap much more heat within the atmosphere. 35
Food wastage, moreover, is morally wrong. To put it simply, we throw away
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millions of dollars’ worth of food each year – even though about 690 million
people across the globe are undernourished. Just think about that for a moment!
How can we reduce food waste?
The food industry needs to change its ways. But meanwhile, there are various 40
ways in which you can encourage your parents or carers to go about reducing
your food waste. Here are some suggestions:
• encourage whoever cooks to pre-plan meals so they know exactly what to
buy from the supermarket and don’t buy unnecessary groceries
• persuade adults to look carefully at sell-by dates when shopping to make 45
sure they’ll use the groceries in time
• set up your own compost heap in your garden
• find your green fingers and start your own vegetable patch
• check the fridge regularly and make adults aware of all sell-by dates.
You might think that these small changes are too trivial and insignificant to make 50
a difference. Well actually, it’s estimated that around 60% of food waste comes
from the home, so any small change is a change in the right direction.
Glossary
1
sell-by date: the date given on food when it is recommended it should be sold by
2
EU: European Union
3
landfill site: a place where rubbish is buried in the ground
4
ozone: a gas
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Section A: Reading
Spend 30 minutes on this section.
Read the text from a blog about food waste in the insert, and answer Questions 1–8.
1 Look at the first paragraph (lines 2–6).
(a) Give one phrase which means the same as occasionally.
[1]
(b) Give one adjective used to express an opinion.
[1]
(c) Give one phrase which means the same as unimportant.
[1]
2 Look at lines 7–18.
(a) How is the text structured so that the information is easy to read? Give three
ways.
•
[3]
(b) Give a three-word phrase which means ‘food served but not eaten’.
[1]
3 Look at lines 19–25.
Waste is an abstract noun. Give two more abstract nouns.
•
[2]
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4 Look at lines 26–38.
Give one connective which:
(a) introduces an opposite idea
[1]
(b) introduces another point.
[1]
(c) Which of these consequences of food waste do you think is worse?
Tick ( ) one box.
the effect on the environment
the effect on people around the world
Explain your answer and support your explanation with a quotation from the
text.
Explanation:
Quotation:
[2]
(d) Why is a dash ( – ) used?
Tick ( ) one box.
to repeat the previous idea
to join two separate sentences together
to add emphasis to the point that follows
to show the idea is not complete
[1]
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5 Look at lines 39–49.
(a) Why is a colon ( : ) used?
[1]
(b) Look at line 48. What literary technique is the phrase green fingers?
Tick ( ) one box.
simile
idiom
rhyme
alliteration
[1]
(c) What does this phrase mean in the text?
[1]
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6 Look at lines 50–52.
(a) Why is a modal verb used? Tick ( ) one box.
to show certainty
to show a condition
to show possibility
to show the future
[1]
(b) Look at line 52. What is the writer referring to when he says any small
change?
[1]
(c) Explain how the ideas in the final paragraph link back to the ideas in the first
paragraph. Give two ways.
Both paragraphs mention:
Both paragraphs mention:
[2]
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7 Why do you think that the writer compares food waste with plastic waste in this
text?
Give two ideas from the text.
Idea 1:
Idea 2:
[2]
8 This text has been written for a young audience. Give two different quotations
from the text that tell us this.
Quotation 1:
Quotation 2:
[2]
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Section B: Writing
Spend 30 minutes on this section.
9 The blog post in the insert is about wasting food but we waste other things too.
Here is the topic for a student writing competition:
Waste not, want not!
Think of something other than food that is wasted a lot by students.
It could be electricity, water, time, money or something else.
Now write an article persuading them to make some changes so they waste
less.
Think about:
• how it is wasted
• why it is wrong to waste it
• what students can do to stop wasting it.
Space for your plan:
Write your article on the next page. [25 marks]
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