Latest Findings on Food Wastage

Are you bothered by the shape and colour of the fruit and veg you buy and eat? After all, it really doesn't matter if a carrot is a bit wonky or your potatoes are slightly blemished. If you feel this way, you're amongst the 80% of those surveyed recently who said they didn’t mind about the appearance of their greens; 10% even said they would hunt out the less than perfect items. Despite this feeling, a report in January by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers showed that 30 to 50% of food that is grown around the world is wasted, and a large part of this is because it doesn't meet the strict controls imposed by those who will be selling them. It seems that supermarkets and other retailers think their customers are more concerned about the appearance of the fresh produce they buy than is actually the case. The poor weather last year that led to disappointing harvests of fruit and vegetables in the UK left supermarkets with difficulties filling their shelves. As a result some supermarkets eased their regulations on the physical appearance of the produce they stocked, but apologised to their customers that they didn't meet their usual standards.

However, consumers are in no way blameless, as once the food is in our homes around a fifth is wasted. Although household food waste is decreasing - in part due to economic pressures and increased awareness - there are a number of reasons why we still throw away a large proportion of the food that we buy:

• Overestimating the amount of fresh food we need to buy, which may stem from not planning the meals for the week
• Cooking more food than is required and not saving that leftover for use in another meal
• It has not been stored appropriately leading to spoilage
• The food is past its best before date, even though there isn't evidence that it is past its best

Rotting food in landfill not only takes up space, but contributes greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Additionally by wasting food, the resources that went into its production are also wasted - everything from water, fertiliser and pesticides, which themselves have environmental consequences. With some preparation and thought it's easy to prevent food wastage and not only will you save yourself money, but you will be helping the environment. 


Photo by Hugh Venables via Wikimedia Commons