‘Limiting our food waste is more important than it’s ever been’

Every time we leave food on a plate or throw away the green salad that we promised we’d eat until it went bad, we’re part of the problem, we’re adding to climate change.

But it isn’t always clear what we, as consumers can directly do to change this. So could individuals and businesses fight food wastage in more efficient ways?

Let’s take a look.

Statistics by The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO), show that food waste accounts for up to 10 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, those same gasses that are contributing to increasing temperatures on the planet.

According to WWF, about 1.3 billion tons of food get lost, spoiled, or thrown away. When this happens, we’re not only wasting food that could feed others, but we’re also wasting the resources (water and energy) that takes to grow, produce, harvest, and transport those.

Some statistics estimate that six to eight per cent of green house emissions could be reduced if we stopped food waste.

Food waste in the UK: A structural issue 

Jammie Crummie, co-founder of Too Good To Go, and Louise Delmege, partnership coordinator for Bristol Food Network, agree that keeping track of what’s in our fridge, as well as planning our meals around it, is a very efficient way to individually reduce food wastage.

However, it goes beyond individual situations and actions. Food waste is a serious problem on a national level in the UK. Jamie highlights that:

“In the UK over 10 million tonnes of food is thrown away each year. And globally, 40 percent of all food produced goes to waste. Now more than ever, it’s crazy to think we’re throwing tonnes of edible food away each day. With inflation driving food costs up more and more and our climate in serious crisis, limiting our food waste is more important than it’s ever been.”

In the same sense, Louise believes that this issue is deeply rooted in the way the food system is built.

“Foods with higher profit margins get the most promotion. Things like bread make very little profit and are really there to draw people in so they’ll buy other items. Bread is wasted on an enormous scale,” says Louise.

“With that flour, we could be making decent, baked-in-an-oven bread for everyone and be so much healthier for it. Using food to advertise other foods is so wasteful,” she pointed out.

Bristol City Council’s 2018 ‘Slim My Waste Feed My Face’ campaign encouraged food bin usage to reduce food in the black bin

How to reduce food waste: From the individual to the collective

Too Good To Go, an app used by many cafes and businesses in Bristol, helps prevent food waste by letting customers buy what’s left at the end of the day but also reducing businesses’ losses.

The company’s co-founder says: “One of the simplest things that retailers can do is to make sure that food is not being thrown away simply because it hasn’t sold in time. And technology can be a huge help for this.”

On an individual level, Jammie believes that simply making a plan before shopping can create an impact on food waste.

“And when it comes to the ingredients you do buy, make sure that you’ve made the most out of them by getting creative in the kitchen. Why not have a go at making a broccoli pesto using the broccoli stalks that you’d usually throw away, or keeping the peel on your potatoes when you’re boiling or mashing them? Little changes like these are key,” he added.

Louise also believes that businesses can play a key role in the future (and present) of food waste.

She said: “Consider a smaller menu that changes seasonally. Fewer choices on a menu mean you’re less likely to over-order in things but changing it often keeps people coming back. Smaller portions are another way. Offering smaller options for less hungry people is a great way to reduce waste. I love pizza but can’t eat a huge one so this one really appeals to me.”

If one thing is true about this issue, is that our most ‘trivial’ and ‘ordinary’ decisions can make an impact on climate change.

So maybe we can make a difference by using that old potato in the corner of our pantry.

This piece of independent journalism is supported by NatWest and the Bristol24/7 public and business membership

Main photo: Geoff Caddick / PA Wire

Read next:

• Is walking a neglected mode of transport in Bristol? 
• ‘How can we reach net zero when our public transport system is in shambles?’ 
• Inside a Just Stop Oil meeting in Bristol 
• Tackling the big questions climate change poses 

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