Stop Wasting Food!
A staggering amount of food that is grown and meat that is raised, ends up wasted. If we reduced food wastage there would be far fewer hungry people. There is too much food sitting on shelves that goes bad before it's sold. Too much food being rejected because it is imperfect in some small way. People stuff their fridges and freezers with food and then toss it when it goes bad. IF you waste food you are also wasting your money and the time you spent earning it. That's just crazy right? Our propensity to waste is staggering.
We have become an incredibly wasteful society.
The Solution?
Don't waste food. Ever.
Become mindful and respectful of what that package in your fridge represents. That package of meat was a LIFE. There was a sacrifice made for your benefit. Those vegetables were sweated and toiled over, and the carbon footprint to bring them to you is significant. When you think of food in these terms it becomes far more precious doesn't it?
There are about a million things you can do to prevent wasting food. Think about starving kids. There really are people going hungry. There is probably someone within 20 KM of where you stand who could use a good meal right now.
- Plan meals before shopping
- Make lists and stick to them
- Freeze what you can't use
- learn how to can/preserve food
- Understand expiration & best before dates
- Use up what's in your fridge before going for more groceries
- Compost food scraps that can't be used for soup stock (potato peels etc)
Stop Wasting Food.
Maybe if everyone had to work on a farm and raise an animal from birth to slaughter things would change. Maybe if everyone had to pull the trigger on a life things would change. Maybe if everyone had a taste of what it's like to sweat and toil in a field, maybe then everyone would finally see how important the simple act of NOT WASTING FOOD really is?
Stop wasting food.
Building a greener, more beautiful world one seed at a time.
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AMEN!! I think it would do people good to be more involved in the process somehow...not realistic for everyone, but still, once you've processed a deer or canned vegetables you have a new appreciation for the work that went into it and dang it, it's not going to waste! Heck, my dogs and chickens and wild birds enjoy the various scraps and leftovers I can't use any other way...anything to avoid putting food in the trash can.
The dogs and barnyard critters LOVE scraps and leftovers, they get cranky if we don't give them plenty of variety. I guess it's not realistic for everyone but at the same time, if the education system focused on things like this ...what a difference that would make!
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That is perfect. Couldn't agree more!
You are absolutely right. When person is involved in the production of their food, and see where the food comes from, there's a new appreciation for it. I doubt the average person even thinks about where the food came from before it was packaged and shelved. Hell, most people don't care what's in their food. They don't care that the food they're eating isn't even food! So why would they care about the waste?
I think my paternal family motto is something like "while I have breath I hope" ... naive maybe but I still do have hope that people will wake up. I got so MAD today and this post just burst out of me. It might be wasted breath but it sure felt good to write it.
preach it, food waste sister!
i went to a breakfast today - there were a total of 9 women, and i was the only one of five who took back what wasnt finished. i even took my friend's food, too! she had a quarter of an omlette, it's just wild to waste that much food.
I've noticed that portions are huge these days - we were travelling and stopped for a meal and all three of us could have shared one plate (And we are good eaters). I hate to say it but the food industry is crazy wasteful. I don't eat out often but like you I'll bring home what I don't eat. If we don't eat it, there are plenty of four legged critters who will.
I remember when we had an event catered there was so much food but the salvation army refused it (rules about accepting catered food) the woman's shelter was more than happy to take it though so I made that my routine. There are some really stupid rules out there! We raised some pigs for a couple that owned a small cafe (all organic food) and they weren't allowed to bring us the vegetable food scraps for the pigs. I thought that was CRAZY! It's all crazy really.
This topic really bums me out. So many solutions & so many fuller bellies with just a few simple changes.
i agree with you - the restaurant industry is a horrible part of the problem. too many laws to keep people "safe" when dealing with food waste - we're in a country that would rather throw things away than deal with the minimal threat of litigation if someone were to eat their "wasted" food and get ill.
it's depressing and confusing for sure ... but, being passionate and aware about it is important! i've gotten people in my office to think twice about throwing food away so easily, and more often than not i'll get free leftovers out of the deal. i'm not complaining!! LOL ;)
It's surprising how when you've grown something yourself you're more careful not to let it go to waste.
It's a generational thing as well. I am generalizing here based on my own observations, but ... people in their 80's who grew up in an era where money and food was tight, are far less wasteful than the generations that have followed. I really do think that teenagers should have to spend a week on a farm working for their food/bed as part of their education. The world could change with just some real life awareness!
Nice post! Nothing gets me fired up quite like seeing fresh veg rot. Especially from our garden. Food isn't the only aspect that humans are disconnected from. We have distanced ourselves from everything that is destroying the planet just because we can't see it. The time, effort and energy that goes into everything from our clothes to the cars we drive and fuel.
I agree completely! When you see how bad it all is, and start to care, everything changes. We do our best to shop local, from people using local materials. We win on so many levels by doing this. I was just telling my husband that I haven't filled the truck up with gas in three months! I've been minimizing my travel from home as much as possible and it's really paid off.
The fashion and beauty industry is horrifically bad when it comes to pollution, child labour, and use of toxic chemicals (not to mention societal mental issues with low self worth and all that). It's all bad stuff wrapped up in pretty packages. It makes me so mad!
I know that most people don't really want to hear it & don't want to change but sometimes I just get so fired up that I have to vent a little. Who knows maybe my words will challenge one person to make changes.
We try hard to not waste food, going as far as to re-purpose leftovers into whole new dishes. It makes me sad when things do get tossed.
Me too! My husband used to hate left overs but he's come around since we started growing our own food. Being the cook of the house, I love leftovers and can eat the same thing for DAYS! (lol). We have made mistakes and wasted food but it's pretty rare these days and in those cases usually it can go in the compost.
Because we raise most of our own food, very little is wasted. If we don't eat it, the pigs and chickens will. It takes far too much life energy to raise, to be wasting it. Then there's the matter of respecting the life of the plant or animal that you are eating.
Excellent post!
I agree so much with you! Respecting the life that you are taking, that really is at the heart of it all!
Great article. Thanks
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