Less Food Waste Posthaste
Of all food produced, an estimated 11% is wasted in households rather than eaten.
You may be surprised to learn that preventing food waste is one of the easiest ways we can mitigate climate change and ameliorate global hunger. In 2021 the United Nations estimated that “8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions are associated with food that is not consumed.” The UN also estimated that each year the world wastes at least “931 million tonnes of food, which could feed millions of people who are going hungry each day.” In this expert action guide, we explore ways to reduce the 11% of the global food supply that is wasted at the household level.
“Reducing food waste is easy,” according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The FAO invites everyone who buys food to keep a food waste prevention diary for a week to assess how much they waste and why. They publish Your guide to living free of food waste, a handy booklet with food-wise tips and a blank diary for recording your “intentional discards of food fit for consumption.”
Help! Besides keeping a diary, how else can I reduce food waste?
The FAO recommends these practices for living free of food waste:
Planning a meal menu each week and making a shopping list based on the meals you will prepare.
Designating one meal each week as a “use-it-up” opportunity for leftovers and items that are reaching their expiration dates.
Avoiding impulse buys at the supermarket. (Do not food shop when you are hungry!)
Snapping a photo of your fridge and pantry so you can see what food you already have.
Being mindful of how fast you can eat perishable foods; do not overbuy even deeply discounted items.
Buying “funny” food that is oddly shaped and might not sell if you don’t buy it. (This helps prevent food waste at the retail level.)
Supporting local food producers to shorten delivery distances and reduce storage times, thereby reducing the amount of food that spoils before sale.
Checking expiration dates to ensure you can consume food before it goes bad.
Rotating food in your fridge and cupboard, putting new items in the back, and bringing old items to the front.
Pickling, drying, canning, fermenting, and freezing food, and labeling it with the date you preserved it.
Storing leafy greens and citrus in a mesh bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator.
Keeping blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries dry in the refrigerator. Wait to wash them until they are ready to eat.
Keeping tropical fruits such as bananas, mangoes, and avocados at room temperature, not refrigerated until they are ripe.
Storing cereal, bread, and nuts in airtight glass containers.
Making homemade soup stock from chicken carcasses or meat bones.
Making soups from beet and carrot tops, broccoli stalks, and other vegetables that are past their prime but still nutritious.
Making smoothies from overripe bananas and other fruit.
Ordering items to share when dining out if portion sizes are too large for you to finish on your own, or bringing your own takeaway container so you can pack up extra food and enjoy it later.
Donating food that you can’t eat, such as excess produce from a home garden if you are unable to freeze or preserve it.
Help! Are inedible things like eggshells, vegetable peels, fruit pits, coffee grounds, bones, etc., considered food waste?
Exactly what is meant by “food waste” depends on the context, sometimes referring only to edible food that was not eaten and other times referring to all solid waste associated with food preparation. In your food waste prevention diary, record only portions of food that could have been eaten but were thrown away instead. In this context, “food waste” does not include inedible waste that can be composted.
Help! What should I do with food waste that I couldn’t prevent?
The best practice is to compost all food waste (whether no longer edible or never edible), assuming you have the appropriate facilities to handle it. All parts of fruits, grains, and vegetables can normally be processed successfully by backyard composting, but animal products such as dairy, meat, skin, and bones require specific equipment and skill to avoid odors and pests such as rats.
What’s Still Ahead on the Pathway…
Last year, we explored the pathway to sustainable movement, energy, and goods. Now, we’re exploring the pathway to sustainable food to transition from the standard American diet to a healthier plant-centered diet and from industrial to regenerative agriculture. Stay with us on the journey to sustainability as we take action to have a positive impact on the world.
References and Further Reading
UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021, United Nations Environment Programme
Your guide to living free of food waste, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Sustainable Composting: On Your Personal Pathway to Zero Waste, Fred Horch