“I am not eating that! It’s been expired for over a year now.”
“So, what? It doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with it…”
Now this, shockingly, is quite common in my house. Often, we have some old food packets and expired things, some for a short amount of time and others that expired a year ago. My dad isn’t a fan of food past its “best-by” date, because he thinks it isn’t safe anymore. I used to think that too. However, I realised that the date actually means when the producers think the food will go bad but it doesn’t have to do so on a timetable.
Generally, when people talk about waste, they talk about rubbish or plastic and how it harms the environment. However, food waste is still waste, and still a problem. According to the UN, 25,000 people die of starvation each day. Almost half are children. An unbelievable one third of the worlds food, around 1.3 billion tons of edibles, are thrown out every year worldwide.
In Nanjing, restaurants produce 800-900 tons of food waste daily. Food wasted in China is enough to feed 30-50 million people. Although China following the UN Millennium Development goals has improved the number of people living in extreme poverty and hunger, there are still 135 million undernourished people living on planet Earth. Most live in rural areas. It’s a repeating cycle as often women who are malnourished give birth to children who are malnourished, increasing their chances of dying before the age of 5 by 20 percent.
Wasted food wastes money and harms the environment.
Food that is discarded often goes to landfills where it eventually rots and produces methane, the second most common greenhouse gas.
It also wastes a lot of water. According to the World Resources Institute, 24 percent of water used in agriculture is lost through food waste every year, roughly 170 trillion litres. And now due to Covid, the situation is just escalating.
In April of this year, nearly 10 million people lost their jobs, making it harder for them to afford enough food for themselves and their families. It has been estimated that in 2020, as many as 130 million additional people could go hungry. Already, over 368 million children are missing out on food because they normally eat their meals at school. The schools close and children starve.
Reducing food waste and thus our carbon footprint can save us money at the same time.
In the UK, two thirds of household food waste is actually spoilage, due to improper storage. It’s a basic fact that many people do not know how to store edibles. Things like potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, cucumbers and onions are better kept at room temperature and not refrigerated. The premature spoiling of fruits and vegetables can be avoided by separating them based on whether they release ethylene; avocados, cantaloupes, bananas, peaches, etc., produce ethylene; potatoes, leafy greens and berries don’t.
So often forgotten is also the quantity of skin or peel from fruit and vegetables that is discarded and goes straight to landfill.
Nutrients abound in these; apple skin is stuffed with fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, even a compound called triterpenoids which may have cancer-fighting qualities. Skins are also great in smoothies, making them healthier and adding more flavour. Many more can go in there too; wilted herbs, overripe bananas, etc. Those peels can be added to water, making it healthier and tastier. It may also get you to drink more.
As we fight to reduce our food waste, it’s also worth remembering the age-old compost bin that helps the environment rather than damaging it.
Food waste is a huge issue but we do have the ability and the power to reduce it. Our carbon footprint is not just ours alone; it belongs also to future generations.
