STOP FOOD WASTE DAY | 24 April 2019
53 million tons of meat is wasted every year
20% of all meat produced ends up in the bin
equivalent to 75 million cows
29 million tons of eggs and dairy food wasted
equivalent to 574 billion eggs every year (1)
Hello
Is this a wake up call?
Wasting 53 million tons of meat – where is this ending up?
Have we considered what are we doing to mother Earth?
What happens when we dump all this excess meat on our precious planet every year?
What about the 75 million cows that are bred for the purpose of ending up as waste in landfill or incinerators?
Why have we got these statistics yet very few of us know about them?
What is the cost to society when billions of eggs end up in the trash which we call food waste?
What if that money could be spent building an infrastructure that supported communities to be educated about food and the harm of excess eating and waste?
The official Stop Food Waste Day is about educating and igniting change regarding the global food waste epidemic that we are currently facing.
The goal is to draw attention to the problem as well as create and share creative and impactful solutions.
Educated consumers can have tremendous influence on how we –
farm | produce | buy | store | use our food (2)
| Food Loss | occurs between production and retail |
| Food Waste | occurs between consumption and retail (3) |
So how are we going to start educating the world about the global food waste, which has now reached crisis point?
How can we ignite change in others regarding the global food waste epidemic that we are facing right now?
Will our creative solutions work?
Will our impactful solutions cut it?
As a world we have become masters with our solutions but will that be the long term answer, if we are being Honest?
It would be wise for any reader to take note and read our blog on this website about Solutions
Are solutions the band aid to the bullet wound because it never gets to the root of the problem?
Should we be asking WHY have we got this food waste problem in the first place and where did it start?
Do we need to track back and get to the very root cause of why this is happening and then work on a Simple way to deal with the problem?
What if by finding out the root cause we get the real benefits as the problem can no longer spread, as we know how we got there and can take the steps to stop it?
What if dealing with any issue at the root is the way to end the band aid approach of solutions, which we all know is not the true answer to our ills and problems on earth?
Food Loss and Waste
$940 Billion per year in economic loss (4)
Is this just a big fat number or can we comprehend what $940,000,000,000 actually means?
This number tells us we are very close to Food Loss and Waste becoming a trillion dollar annual economic loss?
What does that mean to those struggling to buy food because of their circumstances?
Who are the people in the systems that make the rules and create the laws?
Can we have a chat with them and give them this blog to read, so they can help us to deal with the problem?
If we look at the Politics around the world, we keep hearing of cutbacks to funding, but this statistic alone is showing us the waste on just food alone?
Who is doing the sums because it looks like they cannot add up the losses that we could save and put to good use where it is needed for the people?
While we wait for the kingpins and bigwigs to balance the economy books of our country, could we start by looking at the food waste we have in our own homes?
What if simply addressing food waste in our own life everyday would make producers realise we don’t want to eat more, so they can stop making the excess and selling it to the retailers?
Bingo – sorted !
What if we don’t need campaigning, fighting and creating solutions because we can do our bit – in the name of RESPONSIBILITY?
Note
Food waste is one area where we could say with a dose of honesty that our world has seriously Lost the Plot.
What about all the other waste like –
E-Waste
Animal Waste
Clothes Waste
General Waste
Industry Waste
Plastic Waste
United Nations
2015
Historic window of opportunity opened to boost the issue of food loss and waste reduction onto the global agenda.
At the United Nations General Assembly, countries of the world formally adopted a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals as part of the post 2015 Development Agenda – global goals to end poverty | protect the planet | ensure prosperity for all.
SDG 12.3
“By 2030 halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses” (4)
While we wait for the food loss and waste to be discussed on the global agenda of the United Nations – can we get on the front foot and just start looking at the amount of food we are buying and wasting on a daily basis?
What if by 2030 we would not need to even halve the global food waste thing because we are doing it at the micro level – in our own individual homes every day?
Add to that we are talking about it to neighbours, friends and using Social Media in a responsible way to share what we live and this does the job?
This of course would mean lots of important people working in positions of power would be out of work and the producers would need less staff, as we are no longer wasting and buying or eating excess.
What if real education about over buying and over eating could have an effect on our lifestyle choices that can lead to Cancer, Diabetes and Obesity?
Dear World
We have a Global Food Waste epidemic
This means it is a widespread occurrence of an undesirable phenomenon.
For the record it is happening right now and a wise move would be to continue reading what this blog is presenting.
Why is the cause of Food Waste in Question now?
How have we got Global Food Waste to an epidemic level and not clocked it before?
WHY have we not considered before that how are we living as individuals every day is contributing to Global Food Waste?
WHY have we made it a problem for others but not once thought it had anything to do with us living in our households?
WHY are we ok with trashing food because we simply can?
WHY are we ok with the food waste industry doing what they have to but never ever questioning it?
WHY have we left it up to the policy makers when it comes to our food waste and then find out they are not on the front foot?
WHY are we not being educated from day dot about the importance of food waste?
WHY are we a culture wanting more food than is naturally needed?
WHY are we a society that bops along in life paying no attention to what happens with all that food we keep on wasting?
WHY have we not bothered to tell our kids that food waste is something that never existed with our ancestors?
WHY are we banging on about climate change and wanting to do something about it when we could all start with looking at our daily food waste?
How on earth have we got to this point where we are wasting billions of tons of food costing us BILLIONS $$ ££ €€
NEXT
FOOD WASTE
1.6 BILLION TONS OF FOOD | $1.2 TRILLION WORTH
= ONE THIRD OF TOTAL AMOUNT OF FOOD PRODUCED GLOBALLY
= 10 x the mass of the island of Manhattan
2030
Annual food loss and waste estimate by BCG –
2.1 BILLION TONS WORTH $1.500,000,000,000 (5)
66 TONNES THROWN AWAY PER SECOND (6)
REPORT BY BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP (BCG)
Unless urgent action is taken by governments, companies and consumers, the report warns there is little chance of meeting UN targets to halve food waste by 2030.
Over this period, food loss and waste are projected to increase in most regions around the world, with a significant spike in Asia, according to the study.
“Countries that are industrializing and have a growing population will see the largest increases. As wealth grows, people are demanding more food, more diverse food, food that is not grown locally. That is going to increase food loss and waste.”
Shalini Unnikrishnan | Managing Director – BCG (6)
While in developing countries waste occurs during production processes, in wealthy countries waste is mostly driven by retailers and consumers, who throw away food because they have purchased too much or because it does not meet aesthetic standards.
There is more awareness of food loss and waste but the global response so far is inadequate. (6)
Hello
So here we have the super bigwigs of strategic planning warning governments and companies that urgent action is needed by all and that includes us – the consumers.
Would it be true to say that our response is not adequate because we have not even bothered to respond to the call, which is telling us we need to do something about our food waste on every level?
The call is that we have the awareness of food loss and waste as this consulting company is telling us but not responded, hence the mess we are in right now.
They are also saying there is little chance of United Nations meeting their 2030 targets if things continue as they are.
The managing director is saying there is a link with us having more money to spend on diverse food and that demand means we end up not eating the locally grown food, which adds to the food loss and waste problem.
If we think about it, our land around and what we produce in our own country is there for a purpose – to provide what we need throughout each season of the year.
With the rise of wealth we want more of what is produced in another country and that means we demand and the suppliers give it to us.
But what does that mean for the locally grown food – where does that end up and why are we no longer interested in buying food just from our home country?
We bang on about climate change and the carbon footprint of aeroplanes but have we considered the cargo planes that we never hear about that are busy every single day transporting the food we demand because we want it all year round?
Have we ever looked at our shopping trolley and seen how much of our food is not produced in our own country?
NEXT
FOOD WASTE IS A GLOBAL PROBLEM (7)
UNITED STATES
Food industry produces more than 4 times the amount needed by the population. Most of the food produced is thrown away.
On average, customers purchase more food than what is needed, generating more demand and ultimately more supply than necessary, thus creating a never-ending cycle of mass production and consumption. (8)
GLOBAL
An area larger than China is used to grow food that is never eaten every day
25% world’s freshwater supply is used to grow the food that is never eaten
21 billion people in our world go hungry
25% of the food wasted in US | UK | Europe | could feed ALL of them
If food waste were a country –
it would be third largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and US
UK has 27 million household –
25 million slices bread | 6 million potatoes | 1.4 million bananas
thrown away every day
50% all food waste happening at home in most developed countries
Vast majority food waste ends up in landfill
When food waste decomposes without access to oxygen, which it does in landfill – it creates methane.
Methane is 23 x deadly than CO2
Methane is a serious problem for our climate change (7)
CO2 colourless | odourless | non-combustible greenhouse-gas
It can create lethal oxygen-deficient environments in high concentrations in confined spaces and is said to be the cause of changes in global climatic patterns. (9)
Globally we have more than enough food for everybody
The food we waste in our homes is more than enough to feed those in food poverty(7)
Dear World
Why is this not making any sense?
Do we realise that our world is not short of food yet some do not have enough to eat every day?
Are we all aware that just the food that we are wasting every day at home could end the food poverty in our world?
Food is wasted at every stage from farm to table – at times based on how it looks
In fields, unpicked “ugly” produce is left to rot
Grocery stores – workers reject blemished edible fruits and vegetables
Homes – we ignore leftovers | throw out perishables before expiry date (10)
What is this nonsense about ugly food just left to rot because we only want the eye candy stuff when we buy?
WHY are we ok rejecting something that is not pleasing or desirable to our eyes?
How many of us would not know the difference if we were served up home-made food that was ugly to look at when it was purchased?
WHY have we become so silly with our behaviour about Perfect looking food and where does this all come from?
WHY are our ingrained beliefs about throwing out food so deep that we just keep on doing it?
WHY are we never stopping long enough in our busy life to Question all this food waste stuff?
WHY are we raising children with no real education or awareness of what food waste is all about?
WHY are we busy entertaining others and offering heaps of food choices knowing some of it will end up in the bin?
Have we ever considered the huge menus at restaurants and what happens to all the food that is not used?
World’s Total Food Waste
46.2% Potatoes | Beets | Radishes | Carrots
45.7% Fruits | Vegetables
34.7% Tuna | Salmon | Shrimp | other Seafood
29.1% Cereal | Bread | Rice
22.1% Lentils | Green Peas | Chickpeas | Seeds for oil
21.5% Chicken | Beef | Pork
17.1% Milk | Yoghurt | Cheese (10)
Proportion of food waste highest in western countries
Developing countries more likely to suffer from food loss
222 million tons food waste every year – consumers in rich countries
Equivalent to the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa
95 – 115kg a year per capita waste by consumers Europe | North America
6 – 11kg for consumers in sub-Saharan Africa | South and South Eastern Asia (3)
90% of us throw away food too soon
$1500 loss every year – food wasted by family of 4
300 lbs food thrown away by each individual every year (11)
UK
£15 BILLION WORTH OF FOOD GOING INTO LANDFILL (7)
41% of all food waste comes from restaurants and pubs (12)
720 million edible eggs thrown away because of “best before” date
£139 million is the cost – 3 times more than in 2008
The Food Standards Agency has said that eggs can be safely eaten up to two days past the date provided, if cooked to the point where yolk and white are solid. (13)
Europe
50 million tonnes fresh fruit and vegetables discarded every year for aesthetic reasons
4.5 million tonnes of food in UK wasted because food did not come up to artificial specifications
Study by the University of Edinburgh
The study blamed the waste on the domination of supermarket buying power in the food system.
Researchers found despite the recent launch of so called “wonky” or “ugly” fruit and vegetable ranges in supermarkets, produce was being routinely ploughed back into fields or sent to landfill or anaerobic digestion. (14)
Note
Anaerobic digestion is the process by which organic matter such as animal or food waste is broken down to produce biogas and biofertiliser. This process happens in the absence of oxygen in a sealed, oxygen-free tank called an anaerobic digester.
It is recognised as one the best methods for food waste recycling and dealing with farm waste. (15)
USA
40% of food is wasted (16)
$1,600 family spends each year on food thrown into the bin (8)
2.5 million people in New York struggle to have enough to eat
New York state passes Landmark Food Waste Bill
The Food Donation and Food Scrap Recycling Act is a new act coming into effect in New York.
The Act requires the largest generators of food waste across the state to separate any excess wholesome food for donation and recycle any remaining food scraps.
This is a new mandate across the state (16)
The top priority of the new law is to feed people in need
Any food scraps will be donated for animal feed, followed by industrial uses – oil rendering and composting. (17)
CANADA
50% of food produced is wasted
New study – the first of its kind to measure food waste using data from industry and other sources, instead of estimates
Martin Gooch – Value Chain Management International (18)
Study released 17 January 2019
$50 billion – value of usable groceries that wind up in landfills or other disposable sites.
Enough to feed every Canadian for 5 months
22 million tonnes of climate-changing carbon dioxide emissions are produced from avoidable food waste.
21% of avoidable waste – Canadian kitchens are responsible
$1,700 per household
4 million people struggle for regular meals
We have cheapened it so much that it doesn’t have value any more…
We need to go back to that valuing of food.
Lori Nikkel – Second Harvest | Toronto based group working to reduce food waste (18)
AUSTRALIA
£20 billion each year – food waste costs the economy
5 million tonnes of food ends up as landfill
1 in 5 shopping bags end up in the bin =
$3,800 worth of groceries per household
35% average household bin is food waste
4 million people experience food insecurity each year
25% are children (19)
Food insecurity is the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable nutritious food. (20)
56% throw out food every week
75% adults admit being food wasters
“It is the forgotten leftovers and spoiled fresh produce contributing the most to Australia’s food-waste problem. Aussies have good intentions when it comes to consuming their food but modern life gets in the way.”
Nicole Norton – FoodSaver ANZ Brand Manager (21)
Many fail to make the connection between their food-waste worries and their own behaviour.
50% are concerned about food waste in general
73% feel guilty and frustrated about food waste
33% concerned about own personal food waste
51% feel motivated to reduce their food waste in 2019
Findings –
49% start planning meals better
38% use current produce before buying new food
36% use better storage to prevent food going off (21)
Singapore
40% rise in food waste in last decade
2017
809,800 tonnes food waste disposed by households and food industry (22)
85% residents eat out
1 in 10 eat out every day (23)
Rice and noodles most commonly wasted food when people eat out
Reasons for not finishing their food were –
Portions too big
They did not eat some of the ingredients
They chose to buy more than enough food
They wanted a wider variety
National Environment Agency (NEA) (23)
Food waste is one of the five largest sources of waste
The National Environment Agency (NEA) hopes to get people to adopt three habits when eating out so as to combat wastage.
It encourages people to only order what they can finish; ask for less rice or noodles if they are unable to eat that much; say ‘no’ to side dishes they will not consume.
NEA will be reaching out to people at cooked food centres, supermarkets, school and institutions of higher learning. (22)
2018
150 schools organised food waste reduction activities
We would like to create a pervasive culture where everyone will
have an instinct to ‘buy, order and cook just enough’
encourage their friends and family to do the same
influence the practices and behaviours at workplaces to reduce food waste
Tan Meng Dui – NEA Chief Executive Officer (22)
What if we had the Social Media influencers who seem to affect the masses bringing food waste to our attention?
What if to be a real influencer it requires us to really walk the talk?
In other words, we have to live and be the change we want to see in this world and that is the real inspiration for others.
Hong Kong
33% of all trash is food waste
3,300 tonnes of food thrown away every day
Majority from
Restaurants
Hotels
Wet markets
Food production industries
Note – wet markets are places that sell dead and live animals out in the open
Most of the waste ends up in landfill
The government had planned to build incinerators but the public opposes it due to the likely hazardous effects.
It also proposed to implement waste charging but there is no timetable yet
For now, the only Solution is to expand the current landfill sites
Experts say it is not a solution in the long term (24)
Hello
Why is this not making any sense?
A third of ALL the waste is ending up in landfill and this is just one country in our world.
The experts are saying having more landfill sites is not going to work in the long term. In other words, the solution we have got lined up is not going to do the job.
Where is this food waste problem going to end up for Hong Kong?
Who are we looking to for true change and real answers to this growing epidemic that is not going away?
Dear World
This blog has presented some serious questions for us all to consider as we have a global food waste epidemic.
This website is bringing awareness to all of us about what on earth is going on in our world.
We as humanity have been given a wake up call and it is up to each and every one of us as individuals to respond when we are ready.
References
(1) (2019). Stop Food Waste Day. Retrieved April 18, 2019 from
https://stopfoodwasteday.com/en/index.html
(2) (n.d). About. Stop Food Waste Day. Retrieved April 19, 2019 from
https://stopfoodwasteday.com/en/about.html
(3) Kirk, A., & Scott, P. (2018, January 2). No Time for Leftovers: The Astonishing Scale of Food Waste in the UK and Around the World. The Telegraph. Retrieved April 18, 2019 from
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/01/02/no-time-leftovers-astonishing-scale-food-waste-uk-around-world/
(4) (n.d). Champions 12.3. Retrieved April 18, 2019 from
https://champions123.org/target-12-3/
(5) Hegnsholt, E., Unnikrishnan, S., Pollmann-Larsen, M., Askelsdottir, B., & Gerard, M. (2018, August 20). Tackling the 1.6 Billion Ton Food Loss and Waste Crisis. BCG. Retrieved April 18, 2019 from
https://www.bcg.com/publications/2018/tackling-1.6-billion-ton-food-loss-and-waste-crisis.aspx
(6) Ratcliffe, R. (2018, August 20). Food Waste: Alarming Rise Will See 66 Tonnes Thrown Away Every Second. The Guardian. Retrieved April 18, 2019 from
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/aug/20/food-waste-alarming-rise-will-see-66-tonnes-thrown-away-every-second
(7) (2018). Food Waste and Climate Change. Deliciously Ella: The Podcast. Retrieved April 2019 from
https://player.fm/series/deliciously-ella-the-podcast/if-food-waste-was-a-country-it-would-be-the-third-largest-emitter-of-greenhouse-gasses-after-china-and-the-us-delving-into-the-enormity-of-the-food-waste-issue-and-its-role-in-climate-change-with-tessa-clarke-founder-of-olio
(8) Santos, J. (n.d). The Global Food Waste Crisis. Outloud. Retrieved April 19, 2019 from
http://outloud.com/2017/06/the-global-food-waste-crisis/
(9) (n.d). Carbon Dioxide (CO2). Business Dictionary. Retrieved April 18, 2019 from
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/carbon-dioxide-CO2.html
(10) Garfield, L. (2017, October 16). A Third of the Planet’s Food Goes to Waste – Here’s What We Throw Out the Most. Business Insider. Retrieved April 18, 2019 from
https://www.businessinsider.com/food-world-wastes-most-2016-10?r=US&IR=T
(11) (n.d). Tips to Reduce Save Food Waste. Stop Food Waste Day. Retrieved April 18, 2019 from
https://stopfoodwasteday.com/en/tips/ten-tips.html
(12) Garfield, L. (2016, October 5). The ‘Seamless for Food Waste’ Lets You Eat at Buffets for as Little as $2. Business Insider. Retrieved April 19, 2019 from
https://www.businessinsider.com/seamless-like-app-buffetgo-2016-10?r=US&IR=T
(13) Parker, C. (2019, April 9). More than 720m Eggs are Thrown Away Needlessly. The Times. p. 4
(14) Quinn, I. (2018, August 20). Millions of Tonnes of ‘Ugly’ Fruit & Veg Wasted, Says Report. The Grocer. Retrieved April 18, 2019 from
https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/waste-not-want-not/millions-of-tonnes-of-ugly-fruit-and-veg-wasted-says-report/570736.article
(15) (n.d). What is Anaerobic Digestion? Biogen. Retrieved April 18, 2019 from
http://www.biogen.co.uk/Anaerobic-Digestion/What-is-Anaerobic-Digestion
(16) Brown, M. (2019, April 12). New York State Passes Landmark Food Waste Bill. NRDC. Retrieved April 17, 2019 from
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/margaret-brown/new-york-state-passes-landmark-food-waste-bill
(17) Miller, P. (2019, April 17). New York is Curbing Food Waste and Helping People in Need with a New Initiative. Inhabitat. Retrieved April 17, 2019 from
https://inhabitat.com/new-york-is-curbing-food-waste-and-helping-people-in-need-with-a-new-initiative/
(18) Weber, B. (2019, January 17). More than Half of Food Produced in Canada is Wasted: ‘It Would Horrify Our Grandparents’. Global News. Retrieved April 19, 2019 from
https://globalnews.ca/news/4857582/canada-food-waste-study-2019/
(19) (n.d). Food Waste Facts. Oz Harvest. Retrieved April 19, 2019 from
https://www.ozharvest.org/what-we-do/environment-facts/
(20) (n.d). Google. Retrieved April 19, 2019 from
https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+food+insecurity&oq=what+is+food+insecu&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.5614j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
(21) (n.d). Will Australians Turn the Tide on Food Waste in 2019? Retail World Magazine. Retrieved April 19, 2019 from
https://retailworldmagazine.com.au/will-aussies-turn-the-tide-on-food-waste-in-2019/
(22) Koh, F. (2019, February 16). NEA Launches Year-Long Battle Against Food Wastage. The Strait Times. Retrieved April 19, 2019 from
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/nea-launches-year-long-battle-against-food-wastage
(23) Lim, S. (2019, February 18). 85% of Singapore Residents Eat Out Every Week – and Rice and Noodles are the Most Commonly Wasted Food Items Whilst Doing So, NEA says. Business Insider Singapore. Retrieved April 18, 2019 from
https://www.businessinsider.sg/85-of-singapore-residents-eat-out-every-week-and-rice-and-noodles-are-the-most-commonly-wasted-food-items-while-doing-so-nea-says/
(24) (2017, January 12). Hong Kong’s Food Waste Problem. China Daily Asia. Retrieved from You Tube, April 18, 2019 from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmhAE38ypUY
Comments 7
At the cash point yesterday 24 April 2019 was the following sign –
Freeze food about to go out of date to save up to £700 per year
Having read this article by Simple Living Global that morning, this was a very poignant read – it raised the following questions –
Is money and how much we can save an incentive when looking at food waste?
Do we just care about how much we can save financially when we consider food wastage or are we also looking at the harm to our planet, as this article examines?
Do we care enough to allow the effect on our planet to be within our consideration as we shop, cook and eat or do we just grab what we want, when we want as long as we can afford it?
This article by Simple Living Global is an eye opener and a huge wake up call for us all on our responsibility with what we choose to buy and why and the resulting harm that can occur as a result to our planet.
Do we care enough to take note?
Do we care enough to make the necessary changes?
Daily Mail – 25 May 2019
p.29
To curb food waste fruit and vegetables will be treated with new ‘natural and edible’ coating which makes them stay fresher for up to 3 times longer.
It is made from plant-derived materials found in seeds and fruit pulp and forms a natural oxygen barrier preventing everything from bananas to avocados from decaying so quickly.
The coating also means fresh produce can be sold by supermarkets without the need for plastic, which could remove millions of tonnes of waste packaging.
The European Commission have recently given safety approval for the use of the new coating.
Fruit and vegetables with the new coating will be in British shops later this year.
The coating controls moisture loss and restricts oxygen getting in, which is how the life of fruit and vegetables can be extended. Without the coating after 10 days bananas went black; with the coating they remained green.
Lemons were still fresh after 54 days.
This begs the question –
Why do we need to make our fruit and vegetables last longer?
What happened to working with natural use by dates?
Is it because our lives have become so busy or we have other priorities so we are unable to keep abreast of what we buy?
Is this why so much food goes to waste?
What happened to meal preparations and buying what we need?
Has the weekly shop gone out of the window and so is this why we need fruit and vegetables to be fresher for longer?
Is this really the answer to the food waste packaging problem and will it help us reach the reduction in food waste targets?
Is all of this just a solution that will not even begin to scratch the surface of why there is a global food waste issue?
Daily Mail – 17th August 2019
Danger of the 350,000 Tons of Food Waste Sent to Landfill.
It has been claimed that more than 350,000 tons of food a year, are being dumped in landfill and emitting harmful greenhouse gases because of council collection failures.
The Government is consulting on requiring councils to carry out weekly food collections by 2023, but environmental groups and a well known eco friendly supermarket say it is taking too long.
According to this supermarket, almost half of councils in England refuse to collect food waste sending 356,000 tons to landfill. It says urgent action is needed to turn the waste into fertilizer or burn it for energy.
Rotting food produces the greenhouse gas methane, which is considered 23 times worse than carbon dioxide.
Some council’s are squeamish about kerbside food waste collection because of potential mess and odours, but this supermarket says its compostable carrier bags – designed to have a second use as food waste caddy liners – could be a solution.
A spokesperson for the supermarket said: “We are committed to helping our members and customers to make environmentally friendly choices.”
We used to have weekly food waste collections but they were stopped in September 2018.
It cost the council around £300,000 per year to operate the service but there were only 25-30% of residents participating. The council was collecting around 5,000 tons of food waste so this equates to £60 for every ton collected.
Some would say that the food waste bins were an inconvenience, but we used to love recycling our food waste. We would buy the appropriate bin liners and ensure all food waste was put in there, and also, that the bin itself was cleaned regularly.
We couldn’t leave the caddy on the floor because the foxes would get inside and leave everything strewn all over the drive so we would have to put the caddy on top of one of the other recycling bins.
If the bins are used with an appropriate liner this greatly reduces the risk of mess and odours.
When we went walking on our local streets we would notice a lot of these caddies had a thick layer of food stuck in the bottom, which showed that the owner hadn’t used a liner
According to an article by BBC News, only around 35% of households in England are obliged to put food waste in its own caddy compared to 56% in Scotland and 100% in Wales.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46571391
When food waste can be collected separately, it can be put into an anaerobic digester – a tank in which the food breaks down into sludge, carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane – which can be used for generating energy or running a vehicle.
A spokesperson for a government-backed campaign says: Throwing away food is a huge waste of the energy, water and packaging used in its production, transportation and storage. If we all stopped wasting the food which could have been eaten, it would have the same CO2 impact as taking one in four cars off UK roads.”
Food waste has got to be one of the most senseless things we can do because it is so avoidable. We can simply choose not to buy the excess food or the BOGOF offers ‘just because’.
Of course, there will always be food waste from vegetables and fruits, egg shells, etc. but if we all recycled this waste, it would mean the councils would be able to offset the cost of collecting it through the revenue they would be generating.
It seems to me that the government and the councils want to implement good recycling practices but it is us, the public, that are not so willing.
Is it possible that, like many things in life, we are the creators of our own problems?
The Guardian – 31st August 2019
The Annual ‘Tomatino’.
The annual Tomatino festival in a Spanish town is billed as the world’s biggest food fight and has become a huge draw for tourists.
This is a food fight festival, held at the end of August every year where thousands and thousands of people make their way from all corners of the globe to fight in the ‘World’s Biggest Food Fight’.
More than 100 tons of ripe tomatoes are thrown in the streets.
With water from water cannons being fired into the streets, they start to become a river of squashed tomatoes.
It starts in the morning with many trucks bringing in the tomatoes and once the firing of water cannons commences, it is every man for himself.
Prior to 2013, anywhere between 40,000-50,000 people were attending but since then there is now have an official ticketing system, which limits the participants to 20,000.
In preparation for the dirty mess that will ensue, shopkeepers use huge plastic covers on their storefronts, in order to protect them from the carnage.
After an hour, the fighting ends and the cleaning process involves the use of fire trucks to spray down the streets with water provided from a Roman aqueduct.
We all know that businesses have food waste and for the most part it is managed quite well, but to lose food in this way is shameful.
We live in a world where we have 1.6 billion tons of food waste – $1.2 trillion worth.
We live in a world where 815 million people of the 7.6 billion people in the world, are suffering from chronic undernourishment.
Is it possible that wasting food for “entertainment purposes” is totally unacceptable?
On top of the food waste, you then have the wasted resources of the cleaning up process, the water from the aqueduct and the covering of the shops.
When did we get to the point where we can trivialize food in this manner?
With the hunger that abounds in this world of ours, is it possible we need to become a lot more responsible when it comes to wasting our food?
Reading in the weekend supplement about a celebrity chef who was going to be filming on a river cruise and the boat broke down. That means a lot of food ready for waste.
£1,250 beef fillets | 450 eggs | 60 Kg flour | 100 Kg Onions
Joking aside as that is what the article was expressing, do we ever stop to consider how often this sort of stuff goes on in the name of TV shows?
Big bucks means this would be a minor loss in terms of money BUT is there a bigger picture to consider when something like this happens?
To brush it aside with jest may seem funny but this country happens to have people relying on food banks and the homeless crisis is nowhere yet sorted.
This is one thing to ponder on and there are many more questions we all need to be asking in the name of entertainment.
As this is a comment on Food Waste, we each have a Responsibility to do our bit. Banging on about climate change and our footprints is important but we need to stop championing and campaigning and simply GET ON WITH IT.
Our True Actions speak volumes and it is these movements that we make daily that will be the game changer for humanity and the planet.
We have become a throwaway society and our waste-full ways of living are no where near turning the tides and yet each of us has a part to play.
Reading about how we waste is being highlighted in many forms and reacting to the huge mess we have created changes nothing. Taking action and making sure we live that in our daily life will be the real change we need as a race of beings, who are currently doing a poor job when it comes to our Food Waste and our World.
iWeekend – 26 December 2020
The online trend of mukbang – viral videos in which social media influencers binge eat a large quantity of food while talking to viewers may soon become illegal in China, according to new draft legislation against food wastage.
Influencers would be fined up to 100,000 yuan and have their business operations suspended if they violate the law.
In the name of food waste this could become law. But what if we explore this with some relevant questions here –
Why do our social media platforms allow this type of behaviour?
Is it because of the demand – the viewers want it and subscribe to it?
Why have we created a culture of influencers that seem to have got us hooked?
Why are we, the viewers wanting this form of entertainment – watching a person on screen bludgeon their body with excess food, that is not natural?
In other words behaving in a way that is not what the masses would do.
Why does it make no sense that in the name of social media entertainment we have this type of food waste and we all know that our world currently has people that have little or no food to eat most days and we call ourselves a civilised and intelligent race of beings. Really?
The Guardian – 22 January 2022
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/jan/22/food-waste-are-you-throwing-your-money-in-the-bin
The average family with children in the UK is wasting 244kg food equivalent to 580 meals each year. The cost is estimated at £730 a year.
With a steep increase recently in gas and electricity energy bills, it would make sense if food waste was addressed, not only by households under financial pressure but as a simple act of Responsibility.
6.6 million tonnes of food each year is thrown away by Britons.
4.5 million tonnes, worth £14 billion is edible.
1 in 5 say the reason they waste so much food is because they do not know what to cook. Sainsbury’s supermarket – latest marketing highlights homemade soups as a low cost nutritious meal to use up vegetables and left over food that would otherwise go to waste.
Small steps with lifestyle changes include
Planning a shopping list
Note what is in the cupboards and fridge
Be realistic as we are not going to suddenly cook from scratch 7 days a week, so plan for 5 days.
Buying out of habit and then throwing it out needs to change according to companies that focus on tackling huge quantities of food waste generated in and out of the home.
10 most wasted food and drink items in UK homes
Fresh Potatoes
Milk
Meals – homemade and pre-prepared
Fizzy Drinks
Fruit Juice and Smoothies
Pork, Ham and Bacon
Poultry (chicken, turkey and duck)
Carrots (fresh)
Potatoes (processed)
What is clear from this news story is our lifestyle choices and whilst wasting food does not come across as if it were a lifestyle choice – It is.
We have more and more people using Food Banks and yet we have £14 BILLION worth of edible food ending up as waste.
How many of us have ever bothered to stop long enough to consider the bigger picture?
Those of us that jump on the climate and environment bandwagons ought to start first with checking if they are contributing in any way. That means take an honest look at where we are wasting and adding to the gases produced and all the resources needed that come from food waste.
It makes no sense to have a country of this size wasting food for no reason other than ‘because we can’.
It is high time we started to be more sensible and know that every choice we make has an effect on the greater whole and food waste is an area we could all do with reviewing with a big dose of honesty, to see where we are as individuals adding to this un-necessary harm that affects ALL of us and our planet.