Food waste is a global issue. Three years ago, 38% of the world’s land area was under agricultural use1. The huge quantities of resources (money, water, oil, fertiliser, man-power etc.) are continuously absorbed to produce 4 billion tonnes of food every year. However, 30-50% of this is always wasted2. In fact, 30% of the land used is dedicated to the production of food that is never eaten2. One example implication of this large-scale inefficiency is that about 21% of the world’s freshwater is wasted2… and yet people die of drought throughout the world.
The food grown for our consumption may have avoided disease or pests or growing issues; avoided spoilage throughout processing; made the cut in meeting the high cosmetic standards of food distributors; been packaged up; survived a long journey; succeeded in qualifying for a place on the supermarket shelves; been picked before its sell-by date; may still make it to a fridge shelf or even a person’s plate; but could still end up in the food waste bin! Whole system inefficiency is the problem. Usable food drains out of it at countless leaks in the chain.
However, food waste doesn’t stop there in terms of draining or damaging the planet. Food that is landfilled adds dramatically to the world’s carbon footprint, in the methane and carbon dioxide greenhouse gases that are produced in the anaerobic conditions of decomposition. Whilst that is often the end of the journey, the start of it isn’t any more innocent…
Habitat loss is the main threat to 85% of threatened and endangered species3, and food production drives the clearance of these vital natural habitats for intensive monocultures. One example that has reached the public eye recently is the impact of palm oil plantations on the rainforest, with increasing awareness and advocacy from groups such as Greenpeace4 and the Orangutan Project5. Farmland covers 38% of the world land area, and a further 12 million hectares are lost every year to desertification due to over-intensity of agriculture6. Much of this land used to be habitat and great sources of refuge for dwindling biodiversity.
Our modern easy-buy culture creates further inefficiency, as increasing numbers of people have money to spare on wider ranges of luxury food items. This has increased the demand for meat and fish, which are commodities that require much larger energy inputs per kilogram than any fruit or vegetables. Items with the biggest footprint to produce as food are in high demand by our expensive tastes, such as tuna, salmon and beef. It has been suggested that we need to eat ‘down the food chain’, and eat proportionately more of species lower in the food chain7 (which require smaller inputs to produce, and therefore their consumption does less environmental damage).
Such decisions require sway over whole cultures and industries. There is evidence and examples of mitigation on this scale. Celebrity endorsements, legislation, international NGO reports etc. However, for the majority of people, the easiest (and personally beneficial) ways for them to make a difference, is by making small changes in their own households. The Think.Eat.Save. campaign outlines these saving tips:
· Shop smart (plan meals, use lists, avoid impulse buys)
· Buy funny fruit (chose fruit of odd sizes and shapes)
· Understand expiration dates (use-by and sell-by are different things)
· Zero down your fridge (eat up from your fridge before restocking)
· Use your freeze (buy frozen foods and freeze fresh produce and leftovers)
· Compost (compost food scraps to recycle food nutrients)
· Use first in first out as a kitchen rule (storage organisation to prevent forgetting items)
· Use leftovers (reinvent or have for lunch)
· Donate (non-perishable and unspoilt food for food banks, soup kitchens and shelters)8
These actions are examples of what can be described as conscious consumption. We need to return to being thrifty and smart in our kitchens and supermarkets to save what in the UK costs families an average of £470 a year9.
Changing the way we perceive our food is the start of instigating system change. Increasing awareness will apply pressure on suppliers, farmers and legislative authorities to plug in the leaks in the food production system. Step by step, ugly potato by ugly potato, we can help to save the planet and its biodiversity from unnecessary destruction.
References:
1. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.AGRI.ZS
2. https://arbtech.co.uk/food-wastage-around-the-world/
3. http://www.iucnredlist.org/
4. http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/forests/palm-oil
5. https://www.theorangutanproject.org.uk/about-orangutans/palm-oil/
6. http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/agriculture/impacts/habitat_loss/
8. http://www.thinkeatsave.org/index.php/take-action/various-ways-to-save-money-and-food
Save the wonky carrot. 