{"id":4062,"date":"2019-08-22T15:00:12","date_gmt":"2019-08-22T20:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cathybiase.com\/?p=4062"},"modified":"2019-08-22T15:00:12","modified_gmt":"2019-08-22T20:00:12","slug":"food-waste-costs-us-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cathybiase.com\/index.php\/2019\/08\/22\/food-waste-costs-us-all\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Waste Costs Us All"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was prompted to do research on the topic of Food Waste before my interview with Chef Shane Jordan<\/a>, author of the book Food Waste Philosophy<\/a>.\u00a0 I learned that the social, economic and environmental impact associated with food waste is a subject that we all should and need to be aware of.<\/p>\n

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year, approximately 1.3 billion tons, gets lost or wasted.\u00a0 The FAO estimated that annually, the direct and indirect costs of food waste adds up to $2.6 trillion worldwide.<\/p>\n

Bringing it a little closer to home, in the average Canadian household, one in four produce items gets thrown in the garbage.\u00a0 That translates to about $1,100 a year that we just toss away.<\/p>\n

The impact of food waste hits three areas significantly.\u00a0 It wastes water, wastes land and releases significant amounts of methane gas.<\/p>\n

Water Waste<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a>Water is essential for growing agriculture and feeding animals.<\/p>\n

When we throw out food we waste the millions of litres of water that were used to produce our food.<\/p>\n

Consider this; meat producers are the heaviest water users. Yes, animals drink water.\u00a0 But added to this, water is needed for the feed animals eat.\u00a0 It takes about 8 to 10 times more water to produce meat than grain.<\/p>\n

The consumption of animal products contributes to more than one-quarter of the water footprint of humanity<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Land waste<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Land is used for in the production of food for growing crops and raising and feeding livestock.<\/p>\n

As well, discarded food eventually makes its way to landfills.<\/p>\n

Food waste is both an ethical waste of land and a physical waste of space.<\/p>\n

The land used for production, specifically the crops and grassland used in the actual growing (or raising, in the case of livestock), and the land used for retaining food that has been thrown out.<\/p>\n

The consumption of animal products contributes to more than one-quarter of the water footprint of humanity\u201d<\/p>\n

Methane Gas<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

As food begins to decompose and rot it releases methane gas.<\/p>\n

Methane is a greenhouse gas which many scientists believe adversely affects the earth\u2019s climate and temperature.\u00a0 About 20 per cent of Canada\u2019s methane emissions comes from landfills.<\/p>\n

Added to this the resources needed to produce the food also have a carbon footprint. Globally, the effect of processing the food that is wasted is equal to about\u00a03.3 billion tons of CO2.<\/p>\n

3 Tips for Preventing Food Waste<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Meal plan<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a>Meal planning is a good step towards reducing food waste.\u00a0 It centres your shopping on what is specifically needed and helps you to avoid grabbing the \u2018just in case items\u2019.\u00a0 You tend to not over shop when you know what ingredients you need.<\/p>\n

Use your leftovers<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Using your leftovers is an obvious way to reduce food waste.\u00a0 I tend to make soups at the end of the week and throw in unused and leftover vegetables.<\/p>\n

Leftovers can be repurposed in to new meals and lunches.\u00a0 They can also be frozen to use at a later date.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Store Food Correctly<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n