2 weeks Ago
Home cooking is cited as a hobby and interest by over half of us. But this comes with a responsibility - food waste is a major contributor to climate change, accounting for eight to ten per cent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. That’s five times the amount of emissions from aviation and costs the global economy $1 trillion annually.
Although food waste comes from businesses like supermarkets and restaurants, home food waste accounts for more than 60 per cent of the total with the average UK household throwing away nearly 2kg of food daily, amounting to 6.4m tonnes of waste in 2021–2022. As well as creating 18m tonnes of greenhouse gases, this waste costs each household on average £500 annually.
(Image: Climate Actions Stokesley and Villages) This unacceptable amount means that our valuable agricultural land is also being wasted along with water, energy and the time and efforts of our farmers. Causes of food waste include buying more than we need, often driven by BOGOF promotions, not storing food properly and not eating food before it goes bad. Also shoppers reject 20 per cent of edible produce because of the way it looks.
What can be done? Nationally LoveFoodHateWaste aims to help people reduce food waste and protect our the planet. It runs an annual food waste reduction campaign, this year from March 17–23, focusing on buying more loose fresh produce (without packaging) as evidence shows that when we buy this way we are less likely to overbuy and often if the loose produce is stored unwrapped without plastic etc it keeps longer. Research shows that if all apples, bananas and potatoes were sold loose 60,000 tonnes of waste could be prevented.
Several supermarket chains have pledged to support the campaign by reducing their packaging and offering more loose produce, whilst our local high street greengrocers, markets and farm shops typically sell produce loose or with minimal packaging. (Image: Climate Action Stokesley and Villages) North Yorkshire Rotters (NYC) enable our community to reduce waste through advice and equipment for better storage and managing portion sizes. Alternatively, you can reduce waste by growing your own produce.
Evidence shows that when you grow your own, you waste less because you value the produce more as you have invested time and effort in growing it. Home growers are also likely to use imperfect or blemished produce, often discarded by commercial businesses. Look out for free seed giveaways this spring at local libraries and community centres and seed swap events like the Swainby Repair Cafe on March 15.
Outside of the home, charitable food redistributers provide vulnerable people with nutritious and edible food from shops and businesses that might have otherwise been wasted when near ‘Use by’ dates. This includes the Coop Foodshare where locally Climate Action Stokesley and Villages Food group volunteers collect on average £250 worth of surplus food every night from supermarkets and redistribute to locals in need..
