This fact may surprise you: globally, one third of the food produced is wasted. Yes, you heard right. Of all the food we produce, one third is thrown away. This is not only unsustainable, but also implies a significant waste of resources destined for food production.
While tons of food go to waste, entire communities struggle to access food. Every year, 1,300 tons of food are wasted, which has a profound environmental, social and ethical impact.
The great food paradox
We produce more than 60% of the food we need, yet more than 8500 children die every day from severe malnutrition. As you can see, the system is neither fair nor efficient and it is imperative to take action.
Faced with an overpopulated world, the answer is undoubtedly in organic agriculture, the only one capable of achieving higher yields with less water, a resource that is becoming increasingly scarce and will become even scarcer in the future.
Here are some tips on how to reduce food waste at home:
- Smart shopping
Opt to buy smaller quantities more frequently. When we make large purchases, we tend to buy more than we need. It is therefore preferable to buy fresh food according to daily or weekly needs and reserve non-perishable products for more frequent purchases. Flee from the full fridge syndrome!
- Shopping List
Make a shopping list and stick to it to buy only what you need. The planet will thank you and your wallet too.
- Order in the kitchen
Many times, due to lack of order in the fridge or pantry, we have to throw away food that we didn’t even know we had stored. Remember to check your groceries weekly and make sure to organize them according to their expiration date to avoid throwing away food you forgot you had.
- Best before is not best before date
Keep an eye out! Beware of products marked as ‘preferential consumption’. Studies show that many foods with a best-before date that are not spoiled are wasted. This confusion is more common than it seems: while there are products that should be thrown away after their expiration date, those marked with a “best before” date can be consumed without any problem.
- Meal planning
Plan weekly menus in advance to combat food waste. Often, when we get home tired from work, we opt to order food from home or buy ready-made meals, leaving the food we already have at home to spoil. If we plan our menus in advance, it is much easier to use the products we already have.
- Batch cooking
Do you know batch cooking? Cook once for the whole week and forget about stress and food waste. Prepare versatile dishes with small variations to be consumed throughout the week. The key is to cook a base (rice, legumes, potatoes…), add a vegetable or animal protein and add as many vegetables as you want, either cooked or fresh. If they are fresh, you can store the dressings and sauces separately to mix everything at the time of eating.
Can you think of more tricks to end food waste?
