How much food do you waste?
Posted by kathryn in Ethics & Sustainablity
While I’ve read stats about food waste on overseas sites, up until a few weeks ago I hadn’t seen any figures for Australia. Now, research conducted by the University of Western Sydney’s Urban Research Centre estimates Sydney-siders waste about $600 million of fresh food and $182 million of leftovers each year.
This is food we don’t eat. It’s ingredients and leftovers we throw in the rubbish bin. And it’s a heck of a lot.
There’s a great opinion piece by Phillip O’Neill on the Sydney Morning Herald’s website. He’s one of the researchers behind these figures and writes about the difference between our food aspirations and the realities of what we actually eat.
Unfortunately, Sydneysiders’ food desires are little more than fantasies. Each week the average Sydney household spends nearly five times more on takeaway or eat-out food than it does on fresh vegetables. Each week it throws out fresh food with a retail value equal to the amount that Sydney’s fresh food growers get for their entire farm gate output.
The article isn’t long, but it’s interesting, challenging and somewhat disturbing. You can read it here: Reality check in aisle nine?
What are the main foodstuffs you throw out?
05 November, 2009
Comments
I get great satisfaction from an empty vegetable crisper drawer in the fridge because I know that I have used everything – but the things that I throw out most are sprouts, herbs and lettuce – things that I have to buy more than I need
Leftovers are a problem in my house – I always seem to make too much, and I hate to keep things in the fridge for more than few days. There’s always a twinge of guilt when I have to toss something.
We’ve been really trying to lift our act on ‘waste’… but I find we have a couple of really good weeks followed by a terrible one! I agree with johanna – herbs are tricky – despite now seeing them as a valid vegetable and using them like salad leaves. One thing that has definitely helped reduce our waste is purchasing good ‘lunch-size’ storage containers and freezing leftovers – these days my husband’s lunch is rarely a cheese, tomato and ham sandwich. I enjoyed the Professor’s piece – and thought he raised some great points – especially around our ability to pay a more fairer price for local produce.
Nothing is wasted at my place. We have chooks, dogs, worms and a compost heap which between them account for any food the humans don’t want. We also grow a lot of food – so never have to buy a bunch of herbs, just cut what we need from the garden.
Sounds wonderful Vireya! We’ve recently moved from an apartment to a townhouse – although still inner-city so our ‘backyard’ is essentially a paved court yard. We’re looking into the local council re: compost/worm farm options… we would like to set something up for our food waste but just not sure where all the goodies can go given our garden is limited to a few pots… hoping we can donate it to a local community garden or something… anyone with any other ideas?
Johanna – I know exactly what you mean with the satisfaction that comes from an empty vegetable crisper.
We throw out very little. There are a number of reasons for this:
For us I think the latter has been the biggest change in terms of cutting down food wastage. I used to simply buy too much food. I’d over-estimate how much we could eat; get excited by the fresh produce and ingredients; and we’d end up with more food than we could eat. About two years ago I made a conscious decision to buy less. I’d go round the shops picking out what I thought we needed and then before going to the checkout, I’d put a third of it back. And I found out this new amount of food was much closer to what we actually needed.
I’ve had trouble with tofu going mouldy very quickly, but I’ve recently heard you need to store it under water. I’ll have to try that next time. Making compost definitely relieves my guilt like you say.
Oh dear, I read this post yesterday soon after adding some not-so-fresh greens to the compost.
Food waste is another challenge of food shopping and cooking for one. Paradoxically, one pays relatively more for the smaller sized containers of food – I balk at this and, for example, will be the large pack of mesclun because it’s more economical. But even if I eat two salads a day (not too much for me), I can’t eat it all before it’s way beyond the “best before” day.
I tend to grocery shop frequently and buy small amounts of produce so other than those greens I mentioned, I don’t waste too much – though I could do better. The tips here are helpful. And if I can turn the item into compost, I don’t even consider it wasting as it’s returning to the earth in a different form and will nourish future vegetable generations ;-).
Kathryn, I love that strategy of putting some food back on the shelf before you go through the check-out. I’m restocking my pantry right now & I’m going to resist overfilling it.
Hey, I’d much rather throw out food that is past it’s best than force myself to eat it. Obviously we all want to avoid waste – but it doesn’t always happen so why the pressure?
since our household is not big, only-two-of-us
it is hard to avoid mouldy food for us as most of the stuff sold in the nearby groceries are big enough for a family of 4 :(
anyway since u hv a blog. Hehe. U might wanna check www.ozbloggers.com. It’s new & expanding :) connects via Twitter
Arwen – definitely store your tofu in water in the fridge, it lasts a whole lot longer that way. And bear in mind you can also freeze raw tofu. It changes texture slightly, but works really well.
Elaine – it does seem like lettuces and “greens” are one of the big categories that people end up throwing out. I tend to buy whole lettuces, rather than the bags of salad, as they keep for longer. Although it does mean you end up eating the same lettuce all week. I counter-act this by changing the type I buy each week and maybe supplementing it with some fresh herbs. I might have a think about some lettuce using tips though – for a future post.
Denny – agreed you definitely shouldn’t be eating mouldy or off food. But there are often a few simple and easy things people can do to reduce their waste. Without it becoming a hassle, or extra pressure.
Lisalicious – welcome! And thanks for the heads up about ozbloggers, I’ll take a look.
All my food waste gets converted into duck, guinea fowl and hens eggs. I even rescue a bin full from the fruit shop each day as well.
It’s definitely the greens that wilt first at our house. Sometimes a good soak will revive them or else they go to the worms. A pan of fried rice with remnants from the fridge works to deliciously reduce waste the day before a market but my best test to reduce waste or over buying is how heavy my farmers’ market bags are. Once I begin to bend with the weight of them, it’s time to head for the car and go home. It’s not a precise art but it does work. We toss far less than when I shopped at the grocery store.
Katrina, what a great way of keeping a check on how much food you’re buying. If it’s more than you can carry, then it’s time to stop.
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