We’ve talked about the ridiculous waste of food in some parts of the world these days, in the midst of a food supply crisis in other regions. Now, university researchers have uncovered yet another causal pressure driving the food waste phenomenon. We waste mega-food just by over-eating…
The Glutton – Georg Emanuel Opiz Der Völle 1804. It’s in our blood…
University of Edinburgh researchers say the world consumes 10 per cent more food than it needs and throws as much more away at the consumer stage of the supply process: another 9 per cent is lost through spoilage or just throwing away leftovers. That’s a huge loss.
What do we do about this?
Simple. We have to be more realistic in our purchases at the supermarket to avoid spoilage at home. That can be hard, though, when you have to buy more food than you need. Packages routinely contain coercive amounts of products, a ploy designed to make you keep buying more to make things ‘work out’.
Ever wondered why Hot Dog Buns come in packages of 6 while the Dogs, themselves come in packs of 10? You gotta go back and buy more buns to use up the dogs. But, then, you have to go back and buy more Dogs… ad infinitum. Plan to use the other 2 Dogs as a protein addition to a bowl of Baked Beans, or in some other dish.
There are lots more examples…
We can also use our common sense and our freezers to make sense of packaging situations which don’t fit our needs. I buy jumbo packs of Chicken parts and Pork Chops and so on and bag them down into 2-portions at a time for the freezer. I buy my Potatoes and Onions as singles. They cost a little more, but I never throw any out.
Gluttony is also out there…
Overeating is a fact of our culture. Some folks even think it’s impolite to clean their plates. Makes them look like pigs. Not! Try putting less on the plate and finishing it all! People, confronted with huge platters of food at buffets, almost always take more than they know they can eat. That’s dumb, but it goes back to times primeval, when you ate as much as you could in times of plenty to tide you over times of want.
Listen to your brains, not your instincts! Prepare food carefully. Buy carefully and plan meals ahead. We can all help wipe out food waste at the consumer level!
~ Maggie J.