Future of Sustainable Food (3)

This weeks "Future of Sustainable Food" is all around how we can prevent, reduce and decrease the amount of food waste, with easy to follow and understandable suggestions and ideas. We all as consumers can have a direct impact on the food waste problem in the world, by paying attention to our own personal behaviour, and by creating as much as possible awareness around food waste and by bringing all these facts closer to all human beings on our planet .

If you want to reduce your food waste at home, or in your close environment look at the suggestions here in part three of this weeks blog

We waste a third of the food globally produced, half of which at our personal, private consumption level.

This fact alone, even without mentioning the environmental impact of food waste, makes switching to a more sustainable food supply chain, an economic, environmental and ethical imperative necessity and a matter of urgency. To support this food waste reduction and knowing that all of us can easily support and help, i want to share some suggestions how you, yourself can be a part of this, by starting to prevent food waste in your own home.

1. Plan your meals

As consumers, many of us are always unconsciously looking for bargains, but bargains only make sense if we can use the food in due time! Being aware of the fact that our private schedules are always busy and unpredictable and time is always an issue, I would like to start with advising you to much more mindfulness whilst food shopping.

‘Buy-one-get-one-free’ / "4 for 3" and any other bulk deals, lead correspondingly to buying more than you actually need, and automatically shifts waste from the shops to our homes.

In food waste terms, it’s wise not to buy more than actually needed.

Some simple tips and tricks can help you, to only buy what you need:

• Prepare a meal plan before you go shopping, and if possible for a few days or the whole week, ahead of time.

• Check and take photos of what’s left in your fridge and cupboards before you go shopping, so you know what you still have in storage.

• Go food shopping after a meal (not being hungry), to prevent being biased to buy food out of desire and appetite.

• Use a shopping list, with the exact amounts required.

• Give imperfect fruits and vegetables a chance, they are perfectly edible and nutritious although their appearance might not always be perfect

2. Know how to store your food

Make sure food doesn’t disappear in the back of your cupboards or fridge. Apply the first-in-first-out principle, meaning fresh groceries go behind products nearer to expiry dates, the older products then are closer to grab and use and are more visible.

Organise your fridge by keeping ready to eat foods and leftovers on the top shelf and sealed Raw meat and fish should be kept on the bottom shelf to avoid dripping. Reserve a separate drawer for fruit and vegetables.

Keep track of food storage at home by using a digital storage guide, smart fridge or shopping list. Be aware that there are many apps and/or online templates available, how to organise your fridge just google it.

3. Understand 'use by' vs 'best before' dates

The 'use by' date on packaged food tells us when its is still safe to eat this product.

The use-by date is usually found on perishable foods such as chilled meat, dairy's, and ready-made meals. To avoid wasting these kind of foods these foods should be purchased only when necessary, and planned to consume immediately, don't stock up on these foods.

'Best before' dates are more flexible than "use by" dates. After the best before date is expired (foods such as dried beans, lentils, or dried pasta), these foods can still be consumed safely, although their quality may have decreased slightly (for example, changes in flavour, colour, texture).

Trusting your senses should be the important and sufficient factor to detect the quality of these foods and with these labels. Trust your common sense.

4. Use what you have

• Check regularly what’s in your fridge and cupboards and use all kind of foods that are nearing their expiry dates first.

• Combine any vegetables or left overs in a ‘re-use’ pot and create dishes with them mixed in with pasta, soups, omelettes, or stir fries. this way you can get to enjoy a new recipe or dish and avoid throwing out good food.

• Get creative, find recipes on how to cook with few ingredients and left overs, there are thousand of recipes available online

• Freeze food before its use-by date. Frozen fruits for example can make a nice addition to smoothies!

5. Avoid serving too much

• Serve small portions and come back for seconds, rather than scraping excess food from your plates into the bin.

• Use smaller sized plates to serve your food.

• Measure portion sizes with low-cost kitchen helpers such as measuring cups or scoops or use weighing scales for appropriate portion sizes.

• Improve the dining experience by being mindful, take your time for eating, and eat away from your screen or TV. Enjoy what you created and share with family and friends your repurposing cooking skills

• Use leftovers for dishes in one of the next days. (freshly produced dishes can be kept for 2-3 days in your fridge) In case you don't have enough leftovers for a full meal? mix and match it with different meal leftovers, or add some salads, breads or small bits of fresh ingredients

• Freeze for a later time. For tasty memories. Good to know: frozen leftovers should be used within three months.

• Date-label all your leftovers

• Ask for a doggy bag when dining out, it is okay to take leftovers home and there should be no shame about it. Bringing a container can also help reduce packaging waste.

• Share tasty leftover recipes with friends and family, host a meal where you cook with leftover food or initiate a food waste contest in your community.

6. Know your moulds

Often mould can appear when food is incorrectly or to long kept in Storage Whether we can still ‘rescue’ the food depends on what kind of mould we are dealing with but the following general rules can help you to know what to do

Hard foods should be safe to consume once the mouldy parts are removed along with the surrounding area. This includes hard cheeses, hard cured meats (such as salami and ham) and firm fruits and vegetables (such as cabbages bell peppers, root vegetables).

Soft foods should be thrown out once they start to mould. This includes cooked leftovers, soft cheeses, yoghurts and other dairy products, bread, jams and soft fruits and veggies (such as cucumbers, peaches, tomatoes, berries and so on). This is because mould can spread in soft foods (and we might not even see it).

7. Share extra food with others

If the food is still safe, but we know we won’t be able to use it ourselves, there are ways to share:

• Ask around, friends or colleagues could make use of what we won’t.

• Check if there are food banks around your area where you live, that accept donations or distribute them to people in need.

• Invite neighbours over for a meal, it’s not only a nice way to gain new friends.

8. Repurpose waste where possible

Try to repurpose food scraps and skins before they make it to the compost bin.

Broccoli stems and florets can be chopped and cooked, cauliflower leaves can be baked, potatoes can be oven baked with skin, herbs can be frozen in cubes, roasted celery leaves can be used as a seasoning and other scraps can be transformed into homemade stock or crispy chips

• Keep a food waste diary and a repurposing recipe book and scribble down creative w

• Pick up food from restaurants and stores that would otherwise be wasted. There are plenty of inspiring and growing initiatives to share, exchange or buy otherwise wasted food. ("togoodtogo" for example)

For any kind of food that can’t be saved, composting is a good option. Composting is a natural process where microorganisms biodegrade food waste, turning it into a dark, earthy, nutrient-rich material that promotes healthy soil. Note that while composting food at home does not reduce food waste, it is still a way how we can help reducing the environmental impact of food waste, by repurposing waste into compost that helps nourish our soil.

• Community composting and separate food waste collection, like in food waste bins are a step in the right direction. Check with your local authorities, to see what kind of food waste collection is available in your region

• You can also feed your garden! by composting your food waste which is an affordable organic alternative instead of purchasing fertiliser, but my tip is, it’s best to stick to plant-based foods (as meat and animal products can lead to bad smells and pests)

I hope now, that after reading all these easy to implement ideas and suggestions, you all realise now, that reducing food waste is not "rocket science", its very easy, and everybody can do it, so lets start today.........

PFJ / 03.07.23