How Much Food Does Your Household Waste On A Regular Basis? (7/30) (1 Viewer)

[GordonGekko]

VIDEO: Food Waste in America (Social Experiment) Aug 12, 2015

YouTuber assesses how much food is thrown away in local garbage cans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsqtYmbDMYY




VIDEO: Why does almost half of America’s food go to waste? PBS NewsHour Jun 16, 2015

Roughly 40 percent of food produced in America never makes it to the table. Whether it rots in the field, is trashed at the supermarket, or thrown out at home, NPR’s Allison Aubrey looks at why good food is being discarded, and what can be done to prevent it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8TDfjbpSBE




VIDEO: Top Food Waste Statistics of 2022 Feb 14, 2022

Did you know 1/3 of all food produced globally is lost or wasted every year. This costs the global economy around $940 Billion annually. We are wasting food at an alarming rate and the need to reduce the world's food waste in order to prevent an increase in food insecurity is currently reaching a critical point. One of the most important steps you can take in food waste prevention is to educate yourself in food loss and waste statistics, so here are our top food waste statistics of 2022.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s1rDcdhECA




***VIDEO / STRATEGY ***: 100 WAYS TO REDUCE FOOD WASTE YOU HAVE TO TRY Apr 30, 2020

Many of these are simple and easy zero waste swaps that will help you on your low impact journey. They run from beginner to advanced sustainable tips so there is something for everyone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NCm2Q1rZOM

https://youtu.be/Xt7eBJk6N5E?t=119



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Here is another topic that is designed to increase discussion and participation in the FFA.

Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen. These are just some places in the world where people are starving. Children are starving. People are dying of hunger. I'm not making this a political thread and will not delve into public policy around the food industry, but I want to put a full global context into the topic of food waste. People, particularly those with means, are often throwing food items away on a regular basis, which only adds more fuel to the overall problem. The prices of food items, particularly many staples, has gone up, many in dramatic fashion. Nearly all of you have seen it over time, day to day, in real life in front of you. Predictive modeling says that there are still likely to be widespread shortages of things like infant formula, some grains, pet food, some areas of the meat industry, etc, etc that have a ripple effect across all our lives. In some ways it can be big, in some ways it might be small. But it's happening.

I'd like to have an honest discussion here about how much food that the folks in this forum are wasting on a regular basis. And what we can all do on an individual level and on a household/family level to make some small changes for the betterment of ourselves and everyone else around us. What we did yesterday are things we can't change, but what we can do today, right here and right now, does have an impact on the kind of world our children will inherit.

Some practical strategies I've used for myself over time

1) As suggested by many others, and in some of the videos above, clean out your fridge or lightly reorganize it once a week or so. It helps to identify what you are using, how often, what you don't use, and what needs to be used very soon. Using organizers and bins seems to help the logistics part for many.

2) Have a section or a container near the front of things that "Need To Be Used Soon". Things that will go bad or go off quickly and you prioritize that, so you don't waste it. The first things you see are the first things you'll probably use.

3) Try growing a garden or even just a few small things. One, it might produce something useful for you, like herbs or such. More expansive would be things like vegetables. Two, it gives you an opportunity to start composting, which changes one's mindset about individual waste management. Three, putting in that labor reminds you of how hard so many farmers, factory workers, truck drivers, people at the grocery stores, etc, etc are working, so that we can all have access to food and potentially good nutrition. So waste isn't just bad for us financially, environmentally and emotionally, it's also not honoring the labor and sweat of good people who provide us with valuable and needed services.

4) A "One Year Rule" - If I waste something food wise, I won't buy that item again for a full year. In any format. If I let a couple of pieces of bread get moldy and rotten, I don't buy bread for a year. I don't eat anything with bread in it for a year. It's the one "rule" that really changed my approach to waste and it definitely changed my godson's approach to wasting food.

5) Your best friends in any kitchen are a blender and a stew pot/pressure cooker. If it's going bad or soon to go off, put it in a stew. Or blend it. Barring that, freeze it.

So, for the sake of an open honest discussion, without judgement, let's just talk plainly here.

How much food are you wasting on a regular basis in your household? Is there a pattern to the waste? Is it only certain items? Was there anything in your past or upbringing that galvanized certain patterns towards that waste? What strategies can you use to reduce waste going forward? What strategies have you used previously to stop food waste?

I'll leave this here for others to discuss. (7/30)

 

[3C's]

I hate wasting/throwing away food. My wife calls me the human garbage disposal, I'll eat anything. About the only thing that's wasted is milk if it spoils before it's gone, but even then I'll give it a go to see if it's really bad or only smells bad.

 

[NutterButter]

Almost nothing but its just me and I eat mostly the same 10 things so its either canned (beans), frozen (blueberries and mixed veggies), non/moderately perishable (oatmeal, potatoes, eggs, protein bars). The two things I eat that are highly perishable are chicken and salad stuff and I eat that daily so no problem with turnover.

 

[Dezbelief]

I hate wasting/throwing away food. My wife calls me the human garbage disposal, I'll eat anything. About the only thing that's wasted is milk if it spoils before it's gone, but even then I'll give it a go to see if it's really bad or only smells bad.

I will drink milk the first day or two after it quits smelling fresh. Now that my oldest has started drinking coffee, there's no danger of milk going bad. Just a little dab of coffee in a pint of milk, I'm glad we don't use creamer at home.

 

[rustycolts]

Whatever we don't finish after the leftover stage goes to my bloodhound. He eats anything so no waste.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

I should probably throw out more holiday leftovers, but it's hard to quit cold turkey.

 

[msudaisy26]

I should probably throw out more holiday leftovers, but it's hard to quit cold turkey.

I see what you did there!

 

[In The Zone]

5 dogs in my home means not much waste at all.

 

[Da Guru]

Hardly anything now.

Once in awhile milk goes sour or bananas get too ripe. Thats about it.

Used to but a ton of produce on sale and end up throwing half of it away. Does not matter what great a deal it is if you don`t eat it.

We are empty nesters now so I only buy enough fresh stuff for 3-4 days at a time and then just go again. So much easier shopping when I am only spending 40-50 instead of 200.00

 

[BassNBrew]

We waste way too much. Part of the issue is commuting between two cities and part is working late and pivoting from cooking in to eating out Personally I go to the store at least every other day to avoid waste and get what I need for the next day. Of course that's a waste of time which has value to. I bring this topic up frequently with the other members of our household as it's a pet peeve of mine.

I did garden a bit in the past but with the price of plants and how cheap the store food is during the season they'd be replacing it. Kind of view the same as changing my oil now. From a dollar standpoint my time is better spent elsewhere. Now that I own my own business my perspective on a alot of things has changed. I can see picking that back up when I retire (growing my own food).

 

[BassNBrew]

Hardly anything now.

Once in awhile milk goes sour or bananas get too ripe. Thats about it.

Used to but a ton of produce on sale and end up throwing half of it away. Does not matter what great a deal it is if you don`t eat it.

We are empty nesters now so I only buy enough fresh stuff for 3-4 days at a time and then just go again. So much easier shopping when I am only spending 40-50 instead of 200.00

Empty nest helps. With a full nest you have to have enough to fed all, but then half the nest can pivot to dinner elsewhere on a dime leaving you with too much fresh food.

 

[jhib]

Hardly anything now.

Once in awhile milk goes sour or bananas get too ripe. Thats about it.

Used to but a ton of produce on sale and end up throwing half of it away. Does not matter what great a deal it is if you don`t eat it.

We are empty nesters now so I only buy enough fresh stuff for 3-4 days at a time and then just go again. So much easier shopping when I am only spending 40-50 instead of 200.00

Not bad I guess, but hope you enjoy your year without any fruit or dairy.

 

[culdeus]

Feel like have a pretty good handle on things. Not earthshattering but the key is finding a balance of dried whole foods items like rice and beans and canned products that make sense, and get only the limited quantity of fresh food you plan on using.

If there is food waste here it is really the lower impact dried pantry items that get cooked, but not eaten as leftovers. That's a feature, not a bug as it having it gives flexibility to not waste more intensive and expensive product.

 

[fatness]

We get rid of what we call "science projects" in the refrigerator --- the items that have started changing color and growing other multi-colored life forms on them. A little bit every 2 weeks, when we bother to check.

 

[Da Guru]

Hardly anything now.

Once in awhile milk goes sour or bananas get too ripe. Thats about it.

Used to but a ton of produce on sale and end up throwing half of it away. Does not matter what great a deal it is if you don`t eat it.

We are empty nesters now so I only buy enough fresh stuff for 3-4 days at a time and then just go again. So much easier shopping when I am only spending 40-50 instead of 200.00

Not bad I guess, but hope you enjoy your year without any fruit or dairy.

?? I buy it but only enough for 3-4 days at a time so we eat it all. I usually shop twice a week.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Wife and 3 kids, usually shop once a week and meal plan, so typically buy what we need along with some snacks, or I will stock up on pantry items as well

Usually have bread / buns go bad and some leftovers go uneaten.
Occasionally some produce goes bad as well.

 

[jhib]

Hardly anything now.

Once in awhile milk goes sour or bananas get too ripe. Thats about it.

Used to but a ton of produce on sale and end up throwing half of it away. Does not matter what great a deal it is if you don`t eat it.

We are empty nesters now so I only buy enough fresh stuff for 3-4 days at a time and then just go again. So much easier shopping when I am only spending 40-50 instead of 200.00

Not bad I guess, but hope you enjoy your year without any fruit or dairy.

?? I buy it but only enough for 3-4 days at a time so we eat it all. I usually shop twice a week.

Just being a smart aleck referring to your sour milk and too-ripe bananas and this concept (which I find completely over-the-top, but to each their own):

If I let a couple of pieces of bread get moldy and rotten, I don't buy bread for a year. I don't eat anything with bread in it for a year.

 

[supermike80]

We waste too much but have been actively working on that. My wife and I actually congratulate ourselves when we clean out the food staples and eat all week....It makes us feel good about it. I don't like waste but we can be better
We don't do a lot though...I mean the biggest thing we have started doing and putting effort into is meal planning,. Both my lunches at work, and our dinners (breakfast is basically some fruit and a yogurt or something).
We did start this before inflation started to eek away at our purchasing power but it is even more beneficial now.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Very little. We make a “garbage” salad when it’s time to get rid of produce.

 

[the moops]

We don't throw any food away. Like into the trash away. Anything that doesn't get eaten by us, or our 2 dogs, gets fed to the chickens or thrown into the compost pile (and mostly just eaten by wildlife rather than actually becoming compost).

 

[jamny]

Hardly anything. A common saying here is "everything must go" We base meals around what we have to make sure to use it up before it spoils.

 

[GordonGekko]

Just being a smart aleck referring to your sour milk and too-ripe bananas and this concept (which I find completely over-the-top, but to each their own):

If I let a couple of pieces of bread get moldy and rotten, I don't buy bread for a year. I don't eat anything with bread in it for a year.

Direct Headline: US families waste $1,500 a year throwing out food—here’s how to save more and eat better

Kathleen Elkins Jan 29 2018

Every time you throw away food, that’s money down the drain. In fact, a four-person family loses about $1,500 a year on wasted food.

.... He offered a handful of tips for “cooking scrappy.” Here are a few ways to help you utilize your scraps, reduce food waste and save money:

1. Make a list before you grocery shop and stick to it. The easiest way to reduce food waste is to avoid buying more than you need at the grocery store.

Before you shop, think about the meals you’re going to make for the week and write down exactly what ingredients you’ll need to prepare those meals. When you actually go to the store, stick to just the ingredients on your list.

2. Get a “scrappy bowl.” This is a bowl for food scraps that’s not your trash can. It’s a place for all your edible scraps to hang out until you’re ready to cook with them.

When you’re ready to use your scraps, check out savethefood.com, which provides recipes that help you use up all sorts of seemingly useless ingredients, like browned bananas, chicken bones, cheese rinds, potato peels and even sour milk.

3. Use your freezer. Whether you bought too many groceries, overdid it on takeout or are leaving for vacation, use your freezer to preserve your food. Almost any food can be frozen and eaten later.

4. Revive old food. Don’t give up on stale, wilted or overcooked ingredients. Before tossing stale chips, crackers or bread, stick them in a toaster oven to crisp them right back up. The crumbs can be sprinkled over salads or pasta to add a nice crunch. If your veggies are wilted, a five-minute soak in ice water will restore them. And before tossing overcooked veggies or dishes, try transforming them into soups or sauces by throwing them in a blender with stock or cream.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/29/fam...on-food-save-by-making-meals-from-scraps.html




PDF: Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill

Getting food from the farm to our fork eats up 10 percent of the total U.S. energy budget, uses 50 percent of U.S. land, and swallows 80 percent of all freshwater consumed in the United States. Yet, 40 percent of food in the United States today goes uneaten. This not only means that Americans are throwing out the equivalent of $165 billion each year, but also that the uneaten food ends up rotting in landfills as the single largest component of U.S. municipal solid waste where it accounts for a large portion of U.S. methane emissions. Reducing food losses by just 15 percent would be enough food to feed more than 25 million Americans every year at a time when one in six Americans lack a secure supply of food to their tables. Increasing the efficiency of our food system is a triple bottom-line solution that requires collaborative efforts by businesses, governments and consumers....

https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/wasted-food-IP.pdf



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What's the value of your time? You trade your time for work and labor to earn a living, to buy the things you need to survive. Wasted resources, that you paid for, not just in dollars, but in the time and toil spent, is ultimately wasting your time and valuable pieces of your life.

What if the money you saved on not wasting food across your entire life meant you could retire a little bit earlier. Or maybe you could have funded one more family trip while your kids were still young. Or found the money to pursue a hobby where you've always wanted to learn that skill and had some passion for it?

What is "over the top" about the value of your time?

Also a culture of widespread waste is leaving what kind of world behind for your children? Your grand children?

Try it. Because it works. Let some cheese go bad in your fridge. Spend a year not eating nor buying anything with cheese in it. No pizza. No nachos. Not in a sandwich. I assure you, you'd learn real fast not to let something go to waste again. It's not like there are not alternatives to get dairy and protein in your diet in some other fashion.

Look, do what you want, but in a relative sense, the money lost associated with your food waste, are there better things you could be doing with that money for yourself, your life and your family? Maybe you don't see it that way, and that's fine. But most people are going to take real pause if their food waste goes into the hundreds or even thousands of dollars in a year. (And what number does it hit across an entire working life spanning decades?) Especially with food prices going up and up and there doesn't appear to be much relief in sight.

Discipline. Accountability. Consequence. Asset Management. The "One Year Rule" also has the ability to reinforce these valuable traits and lessons as well.

But here is your opportunity, you don't like my suggestions, so here is a chance to put forth some of your own. Right here. Right now. ( And why is that a bad thing if it increases productive discussion here in the FFA and in this community? ) Go on, let us all know what suggestions you have, you use and you like better to help eliminate food waste.

 

[jhib]

Nah, I'm good. People value their time in different ways, as evidenced by the time you must put into your posts. My idea? If I find I don't drink my whole gallon of milk before it goes bad, I simply decide if I should drink it more often or start buying half gallons at a time instead, not punish myself for a year. But if that works for you, have at it - my guess is just that it is a completely unrealistic goal/solution for the vast majority of people. Sorry if that's not adding enough to the discussion for you, but that's all I've got for you.

I didn't say anything about your posting being "a bad thing." Keep going on your 30 for 30.