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How food waste feeds climate change
You may have heard that food has a big environmental impact. But how does the odd overripe banana or stale loaf of bread being binned harm our planet? Let’s get into the impact throwing food away has on the planet. When looking at why food waste harms the environment, it’s important to look at the whole lifecycle of our food: from farm, to fork, to the bin.
Each stage in the journey of our food draws resources from our planet and produces greenhouse gas emissions, therefore contributing to climate change. If we can make sure only the food we are going to eat reaches our homes, and no good food ends up in the bin, we could save the emissions created producing that food from ever needing to be created in the first place. ​​
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Doing your bit at home
Food Waste Action Week estimates that almost a half of all potatoes we buy are wasted: we buy a bag of potatoes; we eat half the bag; the rest end up in the bin. It’s an all too familiar pattern happening in kitchens across the UK. And it is crazy that the packaging makes us buy more than we need.
Its research shows that if all apples, bananas and potatoes were sold loose instead of in bags sold by weight, we could save 60,000 tonnes of food each year. That’s 8.2 million shopping baskets!
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Getting organised is the key to reducing your good waste at home, and Love Food Hate Waste has published various guides to help you get started, from planning meals and staying in control of your food shop, to storing your food so it stays fresher for longer.
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Images from our Food Waste Action Week. It was a fun and informative night.
We kicked off with community chef Nick, from The Perthshire Table, making a delicious array of pickles, slaws, relishes, pancakes and hummus from two food items we tend to throw away - banana skins and broccoli stalks (recipes in the pictures - and yes, banana skins chutney is delicious).
This was followed by Rosie from PKC telling us more about why preventing food waste is important and the ways we can do it locally.
Finally we watched Food Inc 2 - which set out ways in which the Western food system contributes to poor health, climate change and exploitation, but also highlighted ways in which grass root projects are having dramatic impacts at local levels in bringing about positive change.
Thanks to The Birks Cinema Aberfeldy for hosting and Aberfeldy Climate Café for organising.
Which local businesses are involved and what are they offering?
Food waste is a serious issue. For every meal eaten in a UK restaurant, nearly half a kilo of food is wasted – through preparation, spoilage and what’s left behind on the plate. We’re throwing out a whopping 600,000 tonnes of food waste from restaurants every year.​
As a restaurant or cafe you can help cut food waste by offering:
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take home containers for leftovers/desserts
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smaller portions
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side dishes, starters and puddings for the table rather than individual portions
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opting in for garnishes
As a food shop you can help cut food waste by offering:
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loose fruit and veg
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information on how products can be frozen at home
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information about what the different food dates actually mean​​
​We have had a great response from local businesses taking part in Too Good To Waste. It's not too late to get involved as this is a year-round initiative and we have a range of promo materials to display. Contact Emma at info@healthiesttown.org if your business would like to sign up.
Kenmore
Lawers
Aberfeldy
Thyme Deli & Bistro, Aberfeldy
Aberfeldy
Grandtully, Aberfeldy, Kenmore
Aberfeldy
Aberfeldy
Aberfeldy
Follow the carbon emission journey of our food to our plates:
THE LAND WE USE TO GROW this could range from deforestation (removing trees which take carbon out of the atmosphere) to a farmer ploughing a field ready to plant crops (which releases greenhouse gases).
GROWING OUR FOOD Fertilisers, animal feed, tractors and farming equipment, harvesting, transportation: there’s an awful lot of effort, time and resources involved in producing our food, across the world.
PROCESSING OUR FOOD For example, turning potatoes into oven chips, wheat into bread, or canning fruit and vegetables, in factories.
TRANSPORTING FOOD Whether you shop online, at the supermarket or your local market: the food you buy has been transported there – most likely from around the world.
PREPARING FOOD TO EAT Cooking our food also has an impact: fuelling our fridges and freezers, ovens and microwaves.
FOOD THAT ENDS UP IN THE BIN When we throw food away, it rots and releases methane, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere: whether that’s in our compost bin, food caddy or landfill. Methane has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide. In the UK, less than 1% of carbon emissions related to food comes from this final step: when it ends up in the bin. But, a large amount of greenhouse gases has already been released during the journey of food from farm to your plate - only for it to end up in the bin.
How do I...? guides from Love Food Hate Waste
As a diner, you can play your part in helping businesses cut down on waste - ask about smaller portions, say if there is an element of the dish that you would prefer not to have on your plate, ask for side dishes such as chips, salads and vegetables 'for the table' rather than a portion for each person, and always ask for a doggy bag for any leftovers.
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As a shopper, you can plan your meals and only buy what you need, organise your fridge to have a 'use up first' section, buy food with the shortest date and use immediately or freeze, find out about food dates and what they really mean, and buy loose and wonky fruit and veg.
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Below are simple and easy top tips to guide you through the best ways to handle your food at home - from staying in control of your shopping, to keeping your food fresher for longer and cooking delicious meals to use up all your food. Dive into the guides and explore how you can save money and time by making changes to your day to day life around food. Remove the hassle and niggles around food and start creating more time to enjoy your food again. Make your life easier the simple way and build your food expertise over a period of time, by finding one thing to try today and keep doing it until it becomes part of your normal routine. Then try something else.
HOW DO I FREEZE/DEFROST UNCOOKED MEAT? Do you ever plan to have a roast chicken at home but decided, last minute, to pop out for lunch instead? - then realised the uncooked chicken is still in your fridge uneaten. Or you cooked beef or some pork chops and wondered what to do with the uncooked portions left in the pack that you didn’t need? An easy solution is to freeze it instead and save it for another day. This is the same for most meat and poultry. This guide will help you learn how to freeze and defrost meat and poultry safely.
HOW DO I CREATE SIMPLE, FLEXIBLE MEAL PLANS? Use this guide to explore how creating weekly meal plans will ultimately save you time and make it easier to keep to your food budget by ensuring you buy only what you need and that all your food in your home is eaten and not binned.
HOW DO I WRITE SHOPPING LISTS THAT WORK FOR ME? Many of us often pop into the shop uncertain if we already have enough food like milk, bread and potatoes so we end up guessing and buy it ‘just in case’. A shopping day can quickly turn into bin day as our perfectly edible old food gets thrown away to make space for the new. A shopping list is an easy way to help you buy only what you need from your food shop which not only helps protect our planet it also helps you stick to your budget too. By following a few simple steps to create a shopping list that works for you, you’ll be able to save time in the shop and avoid doubling up on food you already have at home. Try some of our tried and tested top tips and hacks and find how you can ensure it takes minimal time to complete each week.
HOW DO I MAKE SENSE OF FOOD DATE LABELS? Take a quick glance at your food packaging – chances are, there’s probably a date on there somewhere either ‘Best before’ or ‘Use by’. But what does it mean? This guide will help you make sense of them and, as a result, save your food from being thrown away while it’s still perfectly edible. You’ll be surprised by how much this could save you on your shopping bill by helping you get the greatest value from your food that’s already at home.
WHY SHOULD I BUY LOOSE FRUIT AND VEG? We’re all aware that the planet is struggling and changing and sometimes it’s hard to know what to do. Here is something easy to do to play your part, buy your fruit and veg loose where you can.
HOW DO I STICK TO A FOOD ROUTINE? It may help to remove a lot of the stress around shopping, planning, preparing and cooking food, saving you both time and money. It’ll also ensure your food is eaten and not binned!
It's not food waste... it's food - recipes
Food waste isn't just what's going out of date, but can also be leftovers from a previous meal or even veg peelings. Below we have some great recipes from Love Food Hate Waste to help you keep food on your plate not in your bin.
POTATO PEEL SOUP New recipes don’t always mean starting from scratch with a set of pristine ingredients. This delicious soup is a brilliant example of that - give it a go. By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Serves 4. Prep/Cook time: 20-30 minutes
SIMPLE DUTCH STAMPPOT Often served with gravy, this traditional Dutch recipe is now our firm favourite when it comes to rustling up dinner using only one pot. Serves 4. Prep/Cook time: 30 minutes
HOMEMADE GRAVY FROM VEG PEELINGS The perfect recipe for homemade gravy to go along with your roast turkey. Serves 4. Prep/Cook time: 10-15 minutes
RED FRUIT CONSOMME Impress your friends with this easier-than-it-looks class act dessert from top chef Tom Kitchin, using up berries just past their best. Serves 4. Prep/Cook time: 1 hour 45 minutes
FROZEN BANANA LOLLIES A great way of using up bananas that are past their best. Serves 4. Prep/Cook time: 10-20 minutes
SIMPLE KIMCHI This traditional dish has been made in Korea for hundreds of years and is an amazing way to make vegetables go further. With this simplified recipe you can try it in your own home. Serves 8. Prep/Cook time: 20 minutes