April 27th is National Stop Food Waste Day. In the kitchen, we all have a responsibility to stop food waste. Join us in the mission to #stopfoodwaste and become earth-conscious chefs.
Why is food waste bad?
Food waste has a HUGE impact on climate change. Climate change is the long-term shifting of the patterns of weather and temperatures due to human activity, specifically the release of greenhouse gasses, and fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are gasses released into the atmosphere through car gas, or heat for your house heating up our earth. As our earth heats up, it becomes a less safe place to live. Global warming creates intense storms, melts glaciers leading to the extinction of animals and a lack of biodiversity. Global warming causes sea levels to rise leaving areas flooded and unlivable, creating an unhealthy air quality impacting the health of people, and so much more.
When food is wasted, all the energy used to produce this food is also wasted. The meat industry is one of the highest producers of greenhouse gasses with the immense number of resources used to develop the meat. If one considers the amount of water used, transportation and packaging, even more fossil fuels are being released. If people do not consume all their food, it goes into the trash and from the trash it goes to the landfill. At the landfill this food rots and produces an excessive amount of methane, one of the greatest greenhouse gas emitters contributing to the heating of the earth. Wasting one meal negatively impacts the well-being of our earth.
How can I reduce food waste?
Five ways to lower your carbon footprint and decrease food waste:
- Compost → composting is great for reducing food waste by taking biodegradable waste and putting it back to use in an effective and environmentally sustainable way. For more information on how to get started on creating your own compost bin visit this site
- Eat Less meat →the meat industry is one of the greatest contributors to greenhouse gasses. Having a few meals out of your week without meat will go a long way in reducing greenhouse gasses.
- Plan your meals: grocery shop in smaller portions → stop letting your produce go bad and go to waste! Less is more 🙂
- Donate food/cook for a friend → if you have too much food, give back and let someone else enjoy it instead of tossing it out
- Purchase ingredients that last a longer → canned food items like beans or other foods including tofu have a longer shelf life. Integrate these into your life so you are less rushed to finish it all or throw food away