Food waste
amblight
Posts: 350 Member
How much thought to you give to food waste?
When starting to diet, or changing our eating habits, it's tempting to throw out all the foods in out cabinets that no longer fit our eating habits - or we may even feel really good about leaving part of our portion un-eaten.
But I really hope you all consider food waste.
With all the talk of sustainability, how we'll keep the food industry effective, in a way that is sustainable, and can feed the growing population, I really think reducing food waste should be #1 priority.
In the industrilized world, there is 40% food waste. 2/3rds of that waste is from farm to your shopping bag. That means, that for every pound of food you buy, there has already been wasted more than 1.6lbs for that food to make it to you. And then, on average, you throw out 20lbs/month - that means you don't only waste those 20lbs: To produce those 20lbs for you, 32lbs was wasted in the industry, and now it was all in vain.
And it's not just food that gets wasted in this way.
10% of the engergy budget, 50% of the land, and 80% of freshwater in the US is used on food, which means, that 4% of the energy budget, 20% of the land, and 32% of the freshwater is used on food that get's thrown out. In a time where we concern ourselves with the presevation of resources, this is utter madness.
I encourage you all to plan better. To stop this waste.
Only buy what you need - don't stock up on stuff you don't know if you'll use - if you can afford to throw out 20lbs/month, you can also afford to not get the bulk-deal!
Don't cook too large portions. A lot of us here on MFP already try to do this for other reasons, but it's really important as cooked food doesn't keep as well, and we are also less likely to eat left over cooked food, than left over ingredients.
Store left overs (ingredients or food) properly. If it can be frozen, freeze it. Put most other things in the fridge, even things you don't normally consider 'fridge foods'. Only store things in cabinets that needs to be stored dry. Make sure bags and containers are properly sealed.
Plan your food. If you buy a big head of lettuce, think about how you'll include it over the next few days. Make sure to include ingredients you already have into this plan.
When thinking of what to cook, look at the food you have, and create a recipe from that. Google inspiration with some of the keywords of food you have, and don't be picky about substituting ingredients - If it calls for a cheese, use what ever cheese you have. If it calls for a fish, use what ever fish you have. Use the spices and condiments you have to flavour it, rather than buying new. Try some apps to help you think of recipes for you ingredients: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/19/cooking-apps_n_1893731.html#slide=1536289 or go to myfridgefood.com and enter your food, and get some inspiration.
Don't get stuck on whether a left over is 'meant' to be - eat left over dinner as breakfast or lunch, and use snack-left overs as a side for main meal etc.
Use you oldest food first. Also, when shopping, if you know you are going to use it quickly, buy the foods that are closer to their expiration date.
And lastly, give away food! I'm a student, so I can always find other people at college who appriciate any sort of ingredient. You can also give to homeless shelters. Or, cook something that is easy to give away - I've just made cookies out of some ingredients I needed to rid from the kitchen, and they are very easy to get people to eat for me
What do YOU do to prevent food waste?
When starting to diet, or changing our eating habits, it's tempting to throw out all the foods in out cabinets that no longer fit our eating habits - or we may even feel really good about leaving part of our portion un-eaten.
But I really hope you all consider food waste.
With all the talk of sustainability, how we'll keep the food industry effective, in a way that is sustainable, and can feed the growing population, I really think reducing food waste should be #1 priority.
In the industrilized world, there is 40% food waste. 2/3rds of that waste is from farm to your shopping bag. That means, that for every pound of food you buy, there has already been wasted more than 1.6lbs for that food to make it to you. And then, on average, you throw out 20lbs/month - that means you don't only waste those 20lbs: To produce those 20lbs for you, 32lbs was wasted in the industry, and now it was all in vain.
And it's not just food that gets wasted in this way.
10% of the engergy budget, 50% of the land, and 80% of freshwater in the US is used on food, which means, that 4% of the energy budget, 20% of the land, and 32% of the freshwater is used on food that get's thrown out. In a time where we concern ourselves with the presevation of resources, this is utter madness.
I encourage you all to plan better. To stop this waste.
Only buy what you need - don't stock up on stuff you don't know if you'll use - if you can afford to throw out 20lbs/month, you can also afford to not get the bulk-deal!
Don't cook too large portions. A lot of us here on MFP already try to do this for other reasons, but it's really important as cooked food doesn't keep as well, and we are also less likely to eat left over cooked food, than left over ingredients.
Store left overs (ingredients or food) properly. If it can be frozen, freeze it. Put most other things in the fridge, even things you don't normally consider 'fridge foods'. Only store things in cabinets that needs to be stored dry. Make sure bags and containers are properly sealed.
Plan your food. If you buy a big head of lettuce, think about how you'll include it over the next few days. Make sure to include ingredients you already have into this plan.
When thinking of what to cook, look at the food you have, and create a recipe from that. Google inspiration with some of the keywords of food you have, and don't be picky about substituting ingredients - If it calls for a cheese, use what ever cheese you have. If it calls for a fish, use what ever fish you have. Use the spices and condiments you have to flavour it, rather than buying new. Try some apps to help you think of recipes for you ingredients: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/19/cooking-apps_n_1893731.html#slide=1536289 or go to myfridgefood.com and enter your food, and get some inspiration.
Don't get stuck on whether a left over is 'meant' to be - eat left over dinner as breakfast or lunch, and use snack-left overs as a side for main meal etc.
Use you oldest food first. Also, when shopping, if you know you are going to use it quickly, buy the foods that are closer to their expiration date.
And lastly, give away food! I'm a student, so I can always find other people at college who appriciate any sort of ingredient. You can also give to homeless shelters. Or, cook something that is easy to give away - I've just made cookies out of some ingredients I needed to rid from the kitchen, and they are very easy to get people to eat for me
What do YOU do to prevent food waste?
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Replies
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Give whats left to my dog 0
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I never throw away food, i eat every scrap on my plate, always. And i only buy what i know i'm going to eat.
I always hated the diet tactic of 'leave a third of what's on your plate to control portion size' like honestly what on god's earth is the the point in that, it's just a small thing that makes me incredibly angry.0 -
Very nice post! I try to do all of the above, most of the time.0
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I never throw away food, i eat every scrap on my plate, always. And i only buy what i know i'm going to eat.
I always hated the diet tactic of 'leave a third of what's on your plate to control portion size' like honestly what on god's earth is the the point in that, it's just a small thing that makes me incredibly angry.
I am scraping my plate more now than before, because I feel like "Damn it, I logged it, it counts!" haha :b
I NEVER throw out food either. Experimenting with what ever ingredients I have in my kitchen does go wrong sometimes, and one of my friends always tell me to throw it out if it's not very delicious, but no! I made some awful muffins some time ago, but I just had a ½ per day and slathered them in PB until I had gotten through them. I also attempted the cauliflower mash that a lot of people talk about, but it was digusting, but then I made lasagne and stirred it in with the sauce for the layers, and it was ok 0 -
Haahaa lunches most weeks for me is "garbage soup" - its where I take all the veg from the crisper that's starting to look dodgy and pop it in a pot with stock, a lb of turkey mince, beans/lentils/barley/other and cook it up and freeze it. I hate wasting food.0
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In my experience, those that are afraid to throw away food will overeat and as a result are much heavier. I have never been bothered by throwing away half a meal at a restuarant or whatever I know I will not be consuming.
Part of my plan to get back my body is to adopt the habits I had when I was skinny. I will be throwing away half the dinner I order and I am ok with that.0 -
It's just as wasteful to eat food when we are full as it is to throw it away.0
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why not just save it for later?In my experience, those that are afraid to throw away food will overeat and as a result are much heavier. I have never been bothered by throwing away half a meal at a restuarant or whatever I know I will not be consuming.
Part of my plan to get back my body is to adopt the habits I had when I was skinny. I will be throwing away half the dinner I order and I am ok with that.
i save everything i can, i try to eat all leftovers but sometimes they end up sitting for too long and they spoil. just throwing them out because you cant currently fit it in our calorie needs seems kinda ridiculous0 -
In my experience, those that are afraid to throw away food will overeat and as a result are much heavier. I have never been bothered by throwing away half a meal at a restuarant or whatever I know I will not be consuming.
Part of my plan to get back my body is to adopt the habits I had when I was skinny. I will be throwing away half the dinner I order and I am ok with that.
This!0 -
It's just as wasteful to eat food when we are full as it is to throw it away.
I like this philosophy!0 -
I have noticed since changing my diet, I have A LOT of leftovers. I didnt change many of the items I eat (did cut down on sweets significantly). Just portions. But I am really going to have to reevaluate how much I buy at once. I hate throwing out food, but I feel sometimes like we can't eat through all of it fast enough.
So this week I am reevaluating all of my recipes to see what to buy less of each time.0 -
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I don't waste food- I just feed it to my hubby to be! lol He has such an active job that he could eat double what I eat and still lose weight. Or, if we eat out, I'll order a meal and a box to go with it and think of it as dinner and then lunch the next day- so it's not wasteful but actually rather thrify! I'm such a cheapskate...
I also don't throw away certain types of food just because I'm trying to lose weight. I still have cookies, crackers, chocolates, pizza, some wine, etc but I have it in moderation and it fits into my calories. If I was to throw all of that out I'd be friggin miserable...0 -
Haahaa lunches most weeks for me is "garbage soup" - its where I take all the veg from the crisper that's starting to look dodgy and pop it in a pot with stock, a lb of turkey mince, beans/lentils/barley/other and cook it up and freeze it. I hate wasting food.
I thought my fiance was the only one to do this! He'll take a whole bunch of leftovers and mix it together like you describe to make what he calls "garbage stew". The name puts me off it, to be honest, so I don't partake but he's a human garbage disposal.0 -
Why would you throw away half of your meal that you paid for? Take the other half to go and have it the next day....Unless it's salad with the dressing already mixed in. That doesn't do well the next day.0
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My family used to do this a lot when we went out to eat. Now, everyone shares, and there are very little, to no leftovers being taken home.
Culturally, and familial tradition for myself is always overcook. It's always better to have more, than not enough. This can actually cause anxiety within me. But, I am working on it, and we are getting better.0 -
why not just save it for later?In my experience, those that are afraid to throw away food will overeat and as a result are much heavier. I have never been bothered by throwing away half a meal at a restuarant or whatever I know I will not be consuming.
Part of my plan to get back my body is to adopt the habits I had when I was skinny. I will be throwing away half the dinner I order and I am ok with that.
i save everything i can, i try to eat all leftovers but sometimes they end up sitting for too long and they spoil. just throwing them out because you cant currently fit it in our calorie needs seems kinda ridiculous
If I am overindulging at a restaurant, i wont want the same meal again before it goes bad so I might as well let the restaurant discard. I also rarely eat leftovers so I attempt to only cook the portion size we will consume at that sitting.0 -
I do NOT like to waste food but I would rather throw away than to put too much on my children's plate and tell them to clean it and watch them become overweight. While I understand and understood this philosphy as a child from my parents, it gave me the appreciation of food but also didn't teach me control and how to read my body's signs that I'm full. Needless to say, I became an overweight adult. Looking back, I wish my parents had taught me portion control from the start. If there are leftovers, yep, eat them until I can't stand eating them any longer.0
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In my experience, those that are afraid to throw away food will overeat and as a result are much heavier. I have never been bothered by throwing away half a meal at a restuarant or whatever I know I will not be consuming.
Part of my plan to get back my body is to adopt the habits I had when I was skinny. I will be throwing away half the dinner I order and I am ok with that.
Leftovers. Split the meal with someone. Ask for a smaller portion since you're willing to pay full price to throw away half anyways. Three insanely simple solutions that are smarter than just throwing food in the trash.
I order kids meals and lunch portions if I am allowed to, but restaurants rarely serve a half serving of a dinner dish.
I eat very few leftovers so throwing out works for me. Of course do whatever fits with your dining style but wasting food allows me to maintain a nice body shape.0 -
i see what youre saying, though i dont necessarily agree with it. i grew up eating leftovers from the night before for lunch pretty much every day so its kind of second nature to me
If I am overindulging at a restaurant, i wont want the same meal again before it goes bad so I might as well let the restaurant discard. I also rarely eat leftovers so I attempt to only cook the portion size we will consume at that sitting.0 -
Leftover dinner = lunch tomorrow
I am working on reducing and using my "garbage". Right now I have a window box of romaine stumps, giving me baby greens for salads. I clip, more grows. I have a big pot off scallions going too.
All of my veggie scraps, chicken bones go in the freezer and then make a nice soup stock when the bag is full.
I can't get on board with the clean place club. A big part of what I am doing right now is only eating when I am hungry. And stopping when I am full.0 -
I always tell my daughter if she's not hungry, don't eat it. If it ends up in the trash, so be it. My inlaws try to push the kids to eat all their food, say "you can't have dessert unless you finish all of your food!" and I tell her not to listen to them. I don't want her stuffing herself past the point of fullness to eat dessert. It should be the opposite, eat a little less at dinner if you want dessert. We love leftovers, though, so I don't feel too bad the rare occasion something does get thrown away.0
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It's just as wasteful to eat food when we are full as it is to throw it away.
I am not encouraging stuffing yourself. I'm encouraging not cooking/buying exessive amounts, and that you make sure to actually use your left overs for another time.0 -
I am trying my hardest not to waste as much food, which requires me to eat 8 mini donuts today for lunch. I am not complaining though.0
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I don't waste any food and buy only what I need so I never have left over.
Another thing is that people throw out food on the date it expires. I only throw it out if it smells or looks like it has been spoiled. Not sure if there is anything wrong with that but I've been doing it for years without ever getting food poisoning.0 -
thisI don't waste any food and buy only what I need so I never have left over.
Another thing is that people throw out food on the date it expires. I only throw it out if it smells or looks like it has been spoiled. Not sure if there is anything wrong with that but I've been doing it for years without ever getting food poisoning.
food expiry dates are extremely conservative. if it looks fine and smells fine, its probably fine0 -
thisI don't waste any food and buy only what I need so I never have left over.
Another thing is that people throw out food on the date it expires. I only throw it out if it smells or looks like it has been spoiled. Not sure if there is anything wrong with that but I've been doing it for years without ever getting food poisoning.
food expiry dates are extremely conservative. if it looks fine and smells fine, its probably fine
I'm with you guys, people are way to sensitive in this.0 -
yogurt and eggs are fine way past the date.
thisI don't waste any food and buy only what I need so I never have left over.
Another thing is that people throw out food on the date it expires. I only throw it out if it smells or looks like it has been spoiled. Not sure if there is anything wrong with that but I've been doing it for years without ever getting food poisoning.
food expiry dates are extremely conservative. if it looks fine and smells fine, its probably fine0 -
yogurt and eggs are fine way past the date.
thisI don't waste any food and buy only what I need so I never have left over.
Another thing is that people throw out food on the date it expires. I only throw it out if it smells or looks like it has been spoiled. Not sure if there is anything wrong with that but I've been doing it for years without ever getting food poisoning.
food expiry dates are extremely conservative. if it looks fine and smells fine, its probably fine
Milk gets the sniff test, as does sour cream, yogurt and cream. eggs get the water test or the "crack into a bowl of its own" test0 -
OP, could you cite your source for the "40% food waste"?
If accurate it's shocking!0
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