We all like fresh fruit and vegetables. Very few people are willing to eat food that is thrown awayas waste. But that was exactly what some world leaders did at a lunch held by the United Nations.

During the meal, the world leaders enjoyed dishes like salads and burgers made with thrown-away vegetables and fruits. Chef Dan Barber, who helped create the meal, hoped that the experience would make the leaders pay more attention to the problem of food waste.

It is reported that one out of nine people on Earth does not get enough food. Yet every year over one third of the food produced worldwide goes to waste! Why is so much food wasted? Firstly, food is often thrown away before it goes to the market because too much of it is produced, or because it is not kept properly on farms. Secondly, shops and supermarkets usually throw away unsold food. Finally, customers often buy more food than they need, so a lot of uneaten food is wasted.

How can you waste less food? When eating out, you may ask for less food and take home what is left. Visit fast food restaurants less often, since they are usually more wasteful. Encourage your favorite restaurants to give unsold food to food banks. You can also waste less food at home. Use smaller rice bowls so that you eat less rice. Encourage family members to use unfinished rice to make rice puddings. Tell family members to make a shopping list and buy only what is on the list when shopping for food.

Food waste is a growing problem and we, either farmers or food sellers or customers, must take this problem more seriously and do what we can to help.

On their way back home every day, many students stop by street vendors(小贩) near their school to eat street food. These vendors look dirty. But why do children like to eat this kind of food? To find out why, we asked 152 students in our city last month, and here is the report.

64% of the students thought the street food was dirty, but 50% of them ate it anyway, the report says. Many students said they ate street food because it was delicious. “School food is terrible and always the same,” said Ling Ming. Many students also thought street food was quick. Another student Wang Jiao said “Street food is quick and you can eat hot food at anytime. At school you can only have food at meal time, and you usually have to wait a long time before it is ready.”

“Schools should make students buy food in groups. So we don’t have to wait in a long queue (队列),” Xue Yiqun said.

But the report doesn’t give any ideas on how to make school food better.