Things You Should Know About Food Waste

You might or might not have heard of how to deal with food waste sustainably. You might not even realize how big of a problem food waste is. But by the end of this blog, you will know why it’s a problem and what you can do about it!

When we talk about food waste, we want to make sure we are thinking about the food throughout its whole lifespan. Food waste is not only present when in our homes when an avocado is accidentally left an extra day on the counter. It also happens in places like grocery stores, farms, factories, restaurants, etc. “In the United States, food waste is estimated at between 30-40 percent of the food supply”. That is a great amount of food considering there is a food insecurity problem for many people in the US.

Waste can happen in different ways, some more avoidable than others. Waste can happen because somewhere in the process of getting the food to grocery stores, there was a problem that caused the food to be inedible. This can be caused by animals or insects eating it, or machines malfunctioning. Another reason why there is so much food waste is that people demand their food to be aesthetically pleasing. Because of this, grocery stores only buy the “prettier” produce and meats which put the farmers in a difficult position because they do not have much control over the appearance of food. There is a great amount of food that gets discarded because it is not aesthetically pleasing.

What you can do:

1. Buy less: The main way to help with this issue is to simply be mindful of the food you buy. Only buy as much as you can consume. Take a moment to think about what types of food and how much is going in the trash. You can even start a grocery journal that you can look back to when grocery shopping.

2. Vote with your dollars: As a consumer, you have power over what stores are willing to offer. If enough people change their shopping habits, stores will adjust to that. You can start shopping at your local farmers market and supporting your local farmers, who might not always have “perfect” looking food.

3. Use all your food: A good way to reduce waste is by trying to use as much of the food as possible when cooking. For example, when you prep your veggies, you are usually left with some scraps. You can use those scraps to make some vegetable broth before tossing them in the trash or compost bin. You can also have a leftover day where you eat up all the leftovers before they go bad.

4. Know your limits: When you cook at home, take note of how much food you actually eat to satisfy yourself and next time cook about the same amount. When you go out, try not to over order. Know your limits especially if you are at a buffet-style restaurant. You can usually get more if you are still hungry but it is hard to return your food without it going to waste anyway.