Love Food, Hate Waste

As the world faces a climate emergency, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and wonder how you, as an individual, can possibly help to make a change.

The good news is that the change can start in your very own kitchen. You’re already making a huge difference by reducing or eliminating animal products from your diet, but did you realise that tackling the food waste problem also helps?

Some statistics about food waste:

• Food waste from households and businesses in the UK is around 9.5 billion tonnes (wrap.org.uk).

• Food that is never eaten accounts for 25 per cent of all fresh water consumption globally (olioex.com).

• 240,000 tonnes of food is wasted by UK supermarkets every year (standard.co.uk).

• Every year, consumers in rich countries waste almost as much food (222 million tonnes) as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa (230 million tonnes).(unep.org)

From an environmental perspective, we’re not only wasting resources when we fail to use our food. When food goes to landfill, it decomposes and produces methane, a damaging greenhouse gas that is contributing to climate change. It’s estimated that if food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, after China and the USA.

We’re all guilty of taking advantage of too many special offers in supermarkets, ending up with far more food than we can possibly hope to eat, and dumping it in the bin when it comes to clearing out the fridge. But with a few simple changes, you can be well on the road to a low-waste lifestyle.

Shop smart

When you’re heading to do your weekly/bi-weekly/monthly shop, make a plan. Don’t just wing it; you’ll end up picking up things you don’t need because they feel like a bargain. Shop your cupboards first; do you even need to go to the supermarket? Try using up what you have for as many meals as you can, and if you still need to buy some ingredients, work out exactly how much of everything you need, and be disciplined. A supermarket delivery or click-and-collect service will help you resist temptation.

Learn how to store

Make sure you know how best to store your foods to keep them fresh as long as possible. For example, leafy greens rot