This is why, in normal times, food waste is a good thing. It means there's some slack in the system for when times get worse.
Not that that helps people in poorer countries, unfortunately.
Not that that helps people in poorer countries, unfortunately.
Why not both? There's isn't some magical point where everybody goes "oh shit" and then scrambles to reduce food waste. Instead, there's always people on the margins that only need a little push (from the rising prices) to enact food waste saving measures.
Others have explained again why excess food is a good thing.
One thing in favor of your point is that we can still improve the system: avoid excess production of processed food, and find optimal uses for excess food that isn't eaten (compost, biofuels, etc.).