Last week Cee Bee wrote about the average amount of food Americans are wasting (nearly 30 per cent), but if you look at worldwide amount of food waste, than number jumps to approximately 50 per cent. That's half of all food and water produced on global scale being figuratively flushed down the drain, according to a report created by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, the Stockholm International Water Institute and the International Water Management Institute.

The report wants governments to take action and curb the amount of food waste by 2025. You can probably see where that is going: studies will be commissioned, methods and tactics will be debated and by the time a plan of action is decided on, we may be approaching roughly 2024. Don't sit on your heels and wait for the government to tell you what to do. Use common sense before you make your weekly trip to the grocery store. How? So glad you asked...

* Make a shopping list. Speaking from personal experience, shopping without a list almost always means meandering around the supermarket and randomly adding what you think you'll need. It may not be as big a deal if the food isn't perishable and is something you'll use down the road, but if you buy perishable items  that you won't use before they spoil, the waste begisn to add up.

* Never shop on an empty stomach. You've probably heard this at least a half-dozen times before, but now you'll hear it a seventh: make sure you shop when you aren't ravenously hungry. Once again, speaking from personal experience, you will over-buy. Everything looks far more tempting when your stomach is growling and you feel as though you could eat an entire menu worth of food. Suddenly food you wouldn't normally consider buying is harder to turn down.

* Menu Plan. Different from making a a shopping list, planning a menu allows you to strategize. If you'll be buying a bunch of cilantro for example, are there multiple times you can use it? Probably. Will you be making enough that you can get by for a couple of days with leftovers? Planning your menu will help you determine that and help you utilize the food you are preparing. 

* Freeze! You could make freezer jam like we told you about last week with some of your fruit. If that's still too much effort, try freezing some of the fruits and vegetables that might otherwise go to waste if they spoil. Berries can be used in a variety of ways in the future (Pancakes! Muffins! Smoothies!), as can frozen vegetables. Instead of tossing them in a landfill once they've reached the point of no return, take inventory of your refrigerator's contents about mid-week. If you don't think you'll use something before it goes bad, see if it can frozen for future use.

* Take inventory again. Speaking of taking inventory, do this as you are making your list. Did you already buy yogurt and apples last week that are still sitting in your fridge? If so, there's probably no need to buy more until the current ones are used. Knowing what's in your fridge before you head out shopping will prevent you from coming home, unpacking your groceries and exclaiming, "Oh! Did I already have that?...." It's unfortunately an all too familiar scenario.

* Create balance. You don't want to purchase too many perishables that will go to waste, but you also don't want to short yourself on food either. Buy items that have longer-term shelf lives, s uch as frozen produce, pasta and foods founds in jars or cans. You won't find yourself scrounging because you didn't buy enough food, but if you don't end up using the can of beans this week, you can work it into your menu next week.

* Share the love. If you've made too many of your favorite muffins or purchased a pound too many cherries, find someone who will enjoy them. Take them into your office and watch them disappear. Call your younger sibling/starving student to see if they'll put it to good use. Take some to the friend who just had a baby and probably hasn't remembered (or had time) to eat in a week. If you can't use it, find someone who can - just make them promise to do so, so you aren't making your problem someone else's!

» Huffington Post