Statistics show that nearly half of the food produced in North America is wasted, never eaten. Why? Many reasons - poor planning, poor storage, over production, poor appearance, portions too large, expiry dates, spoilage ... and, the saddest reason of all - BECAUSE WE CAN.
I have struggled over this particular blog entry for days, writing and re-writing, because, while the subject is dear to my heart, I don't want to preach. My husband and I farm so I reside at the beginning of the food chain. Because I prepare the garden plot, add the manure, plant my stakes, sow the seeds, thin, weed, harvest, use fresh, process or store a good portion of my fruits and vegetables; because I (more my husband) care for my sheep flock, worry over them, feed them, choose one to feed my family, kill it, butcher it, wrap and freeze it - well I've gained a healthy respect for the work and caring involved and tend to feel pretty lousy if I end up throwing some of this harvest out. But most people live in towns and cities, buy their food from stores and do not share my close connection to the land and its bounty. This causes a bit of a disconnect leaving many with less passion to avoid waste.
It's impossible to control food production and consumption without producing some waste. Circumstances vary from household to household, but I have a feeling we could all waste less with a bit of planning and caring. Why bother? Why should we care? Cost? The millions of starving people in the world who would never get any of it anyhow (distribution, conflicts, corruption). So why? I put it down to respect for the value of the commodity itself, to respect for the environment, to respect for the efforts of the many people involved in getting foods from farm to market so you can bring them to your table, to empathy for the homeless and working poor, and to a recognition that WE ARE NOT ENTITLED TO THE MOST AND THE BEST - WE'RE JUST LUCKY TO HAVE IT.
All foods are perishable. Meal planning and thoughtful buying is the key to less waste. Because it's nearly impossible to gauge consumption perfectly, it's a good idea to plan in advance how you will use or preserve the leftovers that can be kept. This is not as difficult or regimented as you might expect. I'm not talking about charting your every move in the kitchen or even about planning your week's meals in advance. Main course leftovers are pretty easy to deal with. Casseroles and stews are often better tasting the next day, can be tasty lunches if a microwave is available, and most can be frozen. Keeping a stash of good recipes using leftover meats is good enough planning. The key is to remember to use them! Foods kept in the fridge for later use can disappear behind or under other items and, if they do, they go bad and end up in the trash anyhow, despite good intentions. Sometimes the freezer is a better choice than the fridge. But an overloaded freezer can be another reason for food waste - freezer burn, quality lost over time. Fridges and freezers only preserve foods if they are used up in a timely manner.
Once fresh fruits and vegetables are cooked, used in salads or slaw, cut into or sliced, their palatability is in serious danger and they are usually chucked if not eaten at the meal for which they are made. The key here to less waste, besides resisting the tendency to overbuy, is portioning. Instead of the big salad bowl, try making individual salads. Get to know the approximate quantities of fruits and vegetables your family will eat at one sitting and control your desire to add that extra bit when you are preparing and/or cooking. Think of them as delicious, nutritious extras to accompany the main course. Also, if you can't get to the store often enough to keep fresh produce on hand, canned or frozen produce, though less palatable, is another option.
Another big reason for food waste is expiry dates. I don't know how many times I've watched someone look at a best before date on something in their fridge or cupboard and immediately chuck the product in the garbage because it is "outdated".
By law, "Best before" dates and proper storage instructions (if they differ from normal room temperature) must appear on pre-packaged foods that will keep fresh for 90 days or less, and are packaged at a place other than the retail store from which they are sold. Retail-packed foods that have a durable life date of 90 days or less must be labelled with the packaging date (known as 'packaged on' date); and the durable life of the food on the label or on a poster next to the food. You can buy and eat foods after the 'best before' date has passed. However, when this date has passed, the food may lose some of its freshness and flavour, or its texture may have changed. Some of its nutritional value, such as vitamin C content, may also be lost. Remember that 'best before' dates are not indicators of food safety, neither before nor after the date. They apply to unopened products only. Once opened, the shelf life of a food may change. Foods with an anticipated shelf life greater than 90 days are not required to be labelled with a 'best before' date or storage information." (From Date Labelling on Pre-packaged Foods - Food - Canadian Food ...www.inspection.gc.ca › ... › Food › Information for Consumers › Fact Sheets, Sep 17, 2014.) Despite no requirement to do so, I found expiry dates on numerous canned and dried products in my cupboard, some years in the future. Why I'm not sure but I will control my natural urge to skepticism and say it's because the processors feel that these products would lose some of their quality if used after the affixed date.
If you find that you have many products that are passing their BBdates before they've even begun to get used up, maybe you should consider buying these products in smaller quantities. A large quantity of a food that can't possibly be consumed before or relatively soon after the BBdate is really not a bargain.
Some food waste is inevitable. A person could get OCD over using every scrap. But the truth of the matter is this, we are responsible through lack of interest or caring for a tremendous amount of food waste. Lots of perfectly good, edible food is tossed in the trash instead of feeding someone who's hungry. Yes, yes, I know, there's lots wasted in restaurants, grocery outlets and elsewhere. We are not in a position to control these other factors. But we can set a goal for ourselves to waste less in our own kitchens. Why? BECAUSE WE CAN.
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Good sites to check out:
The Dating Game, How Confusing Food Date Labels Lead to Food Waste in America. Read more at: http://www.nrdc.org/food/expiration-dates.asp.
Best before labels often confuse consumers: Harvard study | CTV ...http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/best-before-labels-often-confuse-consumers-harvard-study-1.1465304#ixzz3NhTD8a4N.
