You’re out on a hike, snacking on an apple, a banana, or some nuts. When you’re finished, all that’s left is a core, a peel, or a shell. “It’s natural,” you tell yourself, throwing it into the woods.

After all, food waste is biodegradable (可生物降解的). It’s not like you’re littering by throwing away a plastic bottle. 【小题1】

Food waste doesn’t break down as fast as you think

Most people know food waste is biodegradable. But fewer people are aware that orange and banana peels can take up to two years to break down in the wild, meaning they’re going to be staying in nature for a lot longer than you might think. And even if they eventually biodegrade, they can lead to a lot of serious problems.

【小题2】

“ Animals have a super advanced sense of smell compared to us,” says biologist Jeff Marion. All human food can attract animals. This can then cause “attraction behavior”, which refers to human actions that cause animals to overcome their natural wariness(警惕)of people. 【小题3】

Attraction can mean aggression

When animals are routinely attracted to humans and their food, they often become habituated to human presence. “Once an animal reaches that point, it’s essentially game over,” Marion says. That’s the origin of the phrase: A fed bear is a dead bear. 【小题4】 Even if a person is injured by a bear, the human usually recovers. The animal, however, is often relocated or killed to prevent further potentially deadly encounters.

【小题5】 You should properly store and deal with food waste. Don’t attempt to burn or bury it, as food waste is more difficult to burn than you think. Besides, if you see other food waste in nature, pick it up, even if it’s not yours. Because while negative individual impacts can have a harmful effect outdoors, positive individual impacts do just the opposite!