Globally, a third of food is lost or wasted each year. At the same time, millions of people go hungry. In developing countries, food waste and losses occur largely at the later stages of the supply chain. Today, I will be focusing on these stages and the changes that individuals can make with their everyday choices. Although food waste is already seen as negative, the actual statistics are terrible.
The truth about food waste
Food waste is the third largest contributor (8%) to climate change.
Fruit and vegetables are the most wasted foods, with dairy and meat coming in second and third respectively. For example, 45% of all salad bought in UK is wasted. However, since the environmental impact of meat and dairy is considerably worse, it is important to avoid all food waste as much as possible.
About 70% of UK food waste could have been eaten.
If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases after USA and China.
A quarter of the world's freshwater supply is used to produce wasted food.
Our actions on food waste alone, are clearly having an enormous impact so cutting down on food waste can be an easy way to make your diet more sustainable.
5 tips for reducing food waste
Plan your meals in advance and try to do less shopping more frequently
This will reduce food bought that remains at the back of the fridge unused. The NRDC has shown that people are not comfortable with white empty space in shopping baskets, plates, or in the fridge, leading to more food waste.
Store food correctly and start freezing leftovers, particularly fruit and veg.
Use a food waste app such as Olio (save/give away unwanted food to your community) or Too Good to Go (save discounted restaurant meals from being wasted)
Try odd box or a wonky veg schema at the supermarket.
10-16% of farmers' crops are wasted each year. Key causes are mismatches in supply and demand or issues with cosmetic appearance of crops. To reduce these issues, odd box and other schemes distribute farm produce that would otherwise go to waste.
With the waste you do have, compost it and add it to your garden!
For more tips, check out the food section of this blog on zero waste.
Many places like Planet Organic are working towards zero waste through the Unpackaged scheme (see previous post) and redistributing food waste to the local community via Olio and Too Good to Go. Olio allows any food to find a new home, whilst Too Good to Go offers otherwise wasted restaurant meals at discount prices.
OLIO: share more, waste less.
Interestingly, there has been very little research looking into why food waste occurs. Most food waste is generated in the home and studies have shown that there is a large gap between environmental values and actions taken. One possible reason for this is because food waste is less visible in the home, and therefore they are unlikely to be blamed for wasting food.
But Olio let's you share your food without the embarrassment by simply posting a photo to the app. Planet Organic gives out more than 5000 portions of food per month through Olio.
In total, Olio has saved 2.9 million food portions and 417 million litres of water so far.
My thoughts
I had no idea that food waste was such a big issue. This topic has been the biggest learning point for me throughout my blog. The scale of food waste is shocking. I had no idea that food waste was a key contributor to climate change. Prior to this post, I thought that large businesses would be responsible for most food waste, but learning that the majority of food waste takes place in the home, has forced me to make drastic changes. The negatives of food waste for the environment and for the many people without enough food, has left me appalled. I now want to work towards zero-waste using Olio and Too Good to Go, and through buying less food.
Comment below, what are your best tips for reducing food waste?