Cut Food Waste

About a third of all food grown never gets eaten, which is quite startling when you consider that, every year, over 700 million people globally face hunger.

At first you might think, how bad can food waste be? Doesn’t it just decompose? But producing, packaging and transporting food uses land, water, and energy, releasing carbon every step of the way. Not to mention the powerful gases it emits if it ends up in a landfill.
In fact, if food waste were a country, it would be the third highest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, after the US and China. Nearly one-quarter of emissions related to food come from food that is never eaten.

Cut down on food waste in your own home by making sure you only buy what you need, eat the food you have and compost anything left. You’ll save money, effort, and reduce carbon pollution.

tips

Food waste is easy to cut using quick tips like these.

Keep a shopping list to only buy what you need. Remember, bulk buying only saves money if you’re sure you’ll eat it all.

Keep leftovers as an easy snack or meal for later. Learn about how best to store food to keep it fresh and edible. Check what the different date labels really mean.

Worried you’ve ended up with more food than you can eat? Look up convenient local donation options with a quick online search, or find ways to freeze, pickle or ferment it.

For any food waste you can’t eliminate, try to compost it instead of throwing it away. You could try composting at home to create free high-quality soil for your plants, or sign up for a local compost collection. Look into what is available in your town or city: in some areas, the local sanitation department may offer curbside composting; in others, private community services may be available. If there is no collection available near you, consider asking your local government about it.

benefits

Cutting food waste means you’re not throwing your money away on food you don’t eat. Using what’s already in your home is a good way to get creative and learn new, tasty recipes.

Most waste ends up in a landfill and, in high-income countries, food waste makes up 32 percent of that waste. Keeping food out of the trash helps eliminate methane emissions - a powerful greenhouse gas that is 28 times more potent than CO2 in causing global warming - and keeps landfills from overflowing.

text reprinted with permission from Count Us In