We don’t waste food, do we?
Back in the 1950s, the average British family spent about one third of its disposable income on food. Today, that figure has fallen to around 10%. Unsurprisingly, but sadly, a consequence of this has been that less attention is now being paid to the amounts of foods that we shop for and prepare. Inevitably, the amount of food wasted in the home has soared to previously unimagined heights.
The foods we buy and prepare every week are best when on our plates and dishes - ready to be eaten and enjoyed. We wouldn’t waste them, would we? Surely we only buy the foods we need, don’t we? We only prepare the amount of food we need for the family meal, don’t we? And we make use of any leftovers for later snacks and meals, don’t we?
Apparently not!!
Last year, British households binned about £13 billion worth of food which was perfectly edible – that’s almost a fifth of all the food we bought. That means that the average family wastes and bins about £700 worth of edible food every year – that’s nearly £200 worth per person.
So what are the effects of that?
Well of course, it means that we have less money to spend on the other things that we really need. Just think what you could do with that £700.
But this food waste is also very bad news for the environment. Wasting food means wasting all the inputs which went into providing that food for us to buy. It wastes the land from which the food was derived; it wastes the energy, the water and other agricultural inputs and the labour used to produce it and to get it from the farm to our homes. And when food which has been binned is sent to landfill sites or is composted, it generates the powerful greenhouse gas methane. It has been calculated that the impact of the greenhouse gases generated by the food we waste in our homes is equivalent to that generated by one quarter of all the cars on British roads.Wasted food has a really significant impact on climate change.
So it is worthwhile trying to reduce the amount of food we waste for both financial and environmental reasons. Some suggest it is a moral issue as well and has social implications, especially for the poor and disadvantaged.
So here are just a few ideas to help you cut down on any food waste from your home. Apologies if you do them all already as some are pretty obvious!!
•When you do your grocery shopping, do it with a list. This will reduce the likelihood that you will buy foodstuffs on impulse that you are unlikely to consume before their “use by” dates
•Store your foodstuffs properly. For example ensure that your fridge and freezer are at the correct temperatures (3- 5C for the fridge and about - 15C for the freezer). Don’t put bananas in the fridge – they hate the cold; but you can store eggs, apples, grapes and citrus fruits in the fridge to extend their lives
•Make sure the cucumber you buy is wrapped in cling film – that extends its life by well over a week
•Where possible, use leftover soft fruits, vegetables, juice and milk to make smoothies.
•Freeze any other leftovers for later use. A publication called “The Green Kitchen” ( has lots of ideas for leftovers and for other ways to prepare foods whilst minimising environmental impacts.
Reducing food waste from our homes is well worth doing. It will put extra money into our pockets and purses and reduce our environmental footprint, helping us all to live more sustainable lives. And trying to reduce food waste is even more appropriate in the season that we celebrate the Harvest.
David Eggleston, Christ Church, Harrogate