Ten Ways You Can Help Reduce Food Waste

Hey friends! I'm excited for this post because we have our first guest blogger today! Her name is Katie Knight, a senior Dietetics student here at Texas Tech. A little run down of Katie is that she's from Austin, has a knack for drawing and has been doing so since she was three years old. Her favorite nutrition topics include sustainability in nutrition & how nutrition effects the brain. Have you ever wondered how these things are all related? Well listen up to Katie and she shares some facts with us!

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Unsurprisingly, human nutrition and environmental health are closely related. Food waste is one example: there are a minimum number of acres required to grow enough food to comfortably feed the human population, and when we waste food this land becomes useless as well because it could have been used as vital habitat land for other species.

However, according to this article by the World Economic Forum, 28% of all agricultural land on Earth is used to produce crops and livestock that eventually becomes food waste. This misused land is equivalent to 1.4 billion hectares, or nearly 5.4 million square miles. This is larger than the land surface area of the United States and India combined (3.8 and 1.2 square miles,respectively).

Before development, this land used to be wildlife-supporting tropical rainforests, temperate forests, boreal forests, wetlands, and grasslands. 60% of tropical rainforests are deforested for agricultural purposes. Undeveloped wild land is invaluable to the health of humans, and our environment, for a multitude of reasons. These reasons include supporting species biodiversity, climate stability, water (and other biogeochemical) cycle regulation, ecotourism, development of new medications, and many more beyond the scope of this post. To learn more see here and here.

The United Nations believes that the solution to feeding the growing global population – projected to be nearly 10 billion by 2050 – is to reduce food waste, not necessarily to produce more food. This is great news, because we can simply find ways to utilize more of the food we’re already growing – instead of deforesting invaluable wild land.

So, What Can YOU Do About Food Waste?

There are two main routes in which you can personally reduce food waste: reducing waste as an individual consumer and within your home, or by asking corporations to reduce their food waste. The latter can include your place of work, especially if you work at a food production company.

First-world countries waste the majority of food globally produced. Consumer waste per-capita is about 95-115kg in Europe and North America, while waste per-capita in sub-Sahara Africa and Southeast Asia is about 6-11kg. Imagine the size difference of a cat and an elephant!

Assuming you live in a first-world country, this means that your personal attempts to cut down on food waste will have a massive impact comparatively. However, most food wastage is due to food production companies, not individual consumers according to the WEF. This means that you could have a greater impact if you either encourage corporations to reduce food waste, or implement small changes at your place of work.

How To Reduce Your Food Waste

1. While most dietitians advise against eating everything on your plate if you are full, you can still reduce food waste by saving your leftovers for later – at home or at restaurants. This way, you’re avoiding stuffing yourself once you’re already full.

2. Save money, and reduce waste, by keeping produce fresh longer. Be sure to learn how to properly store produce! Apples, cantaloupe, plums, kiwi, apricots, honeydew, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, and cabbage should be refrigerated. Don’t refrigerate avocado, bananas, peaches, watermelon, tomatoes, and nectarines. Keep potatoes, onions, garlic, and winter squash stored in a cool, dry cabinet.

3. If you’re prone to constantly throwing out wilted produce due to your busy lifestyle, consider buying frozen produce instead.

4. Encourage your kids to try new foods, and use known foods in new ways. This way, you can create new recipes from food about to expire, reducing waste and saving money in the process. Check out savethefood.com for tons of recipes and tips to help you avoid wasting food.

5. Consider beginning home composting. Your houseplants, outdoor plants, garden, neighbor’s plants, community garden, or local farms could benefit from healthful compost. Save plant-based food scraps such as apple cores and egg shells for your “green pile,” and fibrous plant-based scraps such as nut shells and coffee filters for your “brown pile.” Don’t include artificial or animal products. Purchase a compost bin, add worms, and use your compost once ready.

6. Begin recycling – most food comes in containers that can be recycled. These plastic and cardboard containers add to greenhouse emissions produced by the food industry. Reusing and recycling them will help reduce (slightly) the need for more plastic production.

How To Help Reduce Corporate Food Waste

1. Remind your workplace that it’s financially feasible to reduce food waste: for every $1 invested in training staff to reduce food waste, $14+ is ultimately saved. Additionally, most corporations already realize that it’s financially beneficial to appear eco-friendly, because environmentally-conscious customers will be more likely to use their products or services.

2. If it’s possible to begin a compost pile and recycling program at work, then do so. You’ll need to provide basic education (such as posted signs) about what can and cannot be composted and recycled.

3. If you do work with food, consider implementing a program to feed hungry people with leftover food that’s safe for consumption. Food that doesn’t make the cut could be donated to local farms as livestock feed: St. Paul Public Schools in Minnesota creating a similar program to save $925 per day in landfill disposal costs. Inedible food can be sold for industry use; scraps can be converted into biogas, a renewable energy source.

4. If you don’t work in the foodservice industry, consider emailing or calling corporations – especially restaurants and food production companies – to tell them about the financial and environmental benefits of reducing food waste.

Fun Fact!

Eighty percent of global calorie consumption comes from just 6 domesticated plant species: corn, wheat, rice, white potato, sweet potato, and cassava.

Thank you for reading! Check out the rest of the blog for other awesome posts.