‘4 million tonnes of food is wasted in Australia
each year. As someone who eats, buys and loves food, you have the power to help
stop this waste. It’s simply a matter of making your food choices count.’
Matraville Sports High Blog - Food Wastage
Food
waste or food loss is food that is discarded or cannot be used. The causes of
food waste or loss are numerous, and occur at the stages of production,
processing, retailing and consumption.
As
of 2013, half of all food is wasted worldwide, according to the British
Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME).Loss and wastage occurs at all stages
of the food supply chain or value chain. In low-income countries, most loss
occurs during production, while in developed countries much food – about 100
kilograms (220 lb) per person per year – is wasted at the consumption stage.
How Much Food Is Actually Wasted
Australians
throw out 4.45 million tonnes of food per year, 936 kilograms for every
household all up that’s about a quarter of the food we buy the equivalent of
5.2 billion dollars, more than we spend on the army. Hats only the tip of the
foodberg we also waste the food it takes to grow the food.
Consider
what it takes to go into a steak, 40 percent of all the wheat, corn and rice
humans grow is used to feed animals. In developed countries every kilo of beef
requires 10kgs of cereals and 100,000 litres of water. Our squeamishness makes
us even more wasters most Australian are only willing to eat certain parts of the
animals 46% of the edible cow carcass is sold cheaply and used for pet foods
and other uses.
What
goes to the supermarket shelves can also be wasted 7% will be thrown away by
the store, unsold or damaged where another 30 percent is discarded in our homes,
uncooked or left over. Vegetables aren’t free from waste either every kilo of
potatoes takes 500 litres of water to produce, throwing out 1 kg of white rice
wastes 1550 litres of water and it costs 140 litres of water to make a single
cup of coffee.
And
then there’s the beauty test, it is estimated that 20-40% fruits and vegetables
are rejected by supermarkets because they don’t meet visual standards. In
Queensland 100,000 bananas (about a third of the annual crop) are thrown away
because they are either too ugly of that have fallen from the trees and hit the
ground + 54% of Australian mangos more than half of Australia’s produce is
thrown away.
If
you add up the food Australia wastes each year it’s enough to fill 720,000
garbage trucks. Your fridgeis just
another rest stop on the wasteful journey from farmyard to rubbish tip.
Easy Ways To Reduce
Wastage
1.
Write a list!
Menu
plan your meals for a week. Check the ingredients in your fridge and cupboards,
then write a shopping list for just the extras you need to make sure you’re not
stockpiling all of one thing
2.
Stick to the list!
Take
your list with you and stick to it when you're in the store. Don't be tempted
by offers or sales.
3.
Keep a healthy fridge.
Check
that the seals on your fridge to ensure that they can keep all food stored nice
and fresh.
4.
Don't throw it away!
Fruits
that have bruises on them are still eatable so just because it doesn’t look
nice don’t throw to away
5.
Use up your leftovers.
Instead
of scraping leftovers into the bin use them for tomorrows dinner of better yet
put in the into a compost bin.
6.
Rotate.
When
you buy new food from the store make sure you have used all of your old
ingredience first
7.
Serve small amounts.
Serve
small amounts of food with the understanding that everybody can come back for
more once they've cleared their plate
8.
Buy what you need.
Buy
loose fruits and vegetables instead of prepacked then you can get the amount
you think you can eat
9.
Freeze!
If
you only eat a small amount of bread, then freeze it when you get home and take
out a few slices a couple of hours before you need them.
10.
Turn it into garden food.
Some
food waste is unavoidable, so why not set up a compost bin for fruit and vegetable
peelings it won’t take long and all of your vegetables aren’t wasted and thrown
away they are going to a good use.
Food Bank
The
causes of most food wastage are the producers, food processors and retailers.
This is due to many things such as the food not meeting stores standards
(visually wise) and are then either thrown away or sold to another retailer.
Food waste can occur at most stages of the food industry and in significant
amounts
Food
bank is helping to resolve the situation of feeding the hungry, just last year
alone they provided 32 million meals for the hungry.
Foodbank
is a non-denominational, non-profit organisation which acts as a pantry to the
charities and community groups who feed the hungry. Foodbank is a conduit
between the food industry’s surplus food and the welfare sector’s need.
How People Can Help Reduce Their Footprint
These
are just some easy ways that you as an individual person can change the size of
your footprint to help future generations
Sustainable
shopping – tips on how to identify sustainable products, Transport – Car and Air travel and offsetting, Saving Water, Reducing
Energy Consumption, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Green Building Design, Ethical and
Responsible Investment.
What Is Youth Food Movement
YFM
aims to be a nation-wide movement that brings young people together around
food. They strive to make our generation aware of their power as conscious
consumers by building understanding and value for the food we eat.
They
also aspire to be a collective voice for young Australians so that together we
can have our say in the decisions that impact our food future. So basically
they youth food movement is out there trying to help and let young Australian
know that there are healthier alternatives to food and telling them what the
down and p side to these problems are.
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