By Ajibola Ameerah
Over the last few years, food waste has not been of major concern. Most people do not bother about food waste because it eventually rots away. With more information at our disposal, Food waste is a growing area of concern with many costs to our community in terms of waste collection, disposal and greenhouse gases.
Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted each year. Every year, consumers in rich countries waste almost as much food as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa without forgetting that over 842 million people in the world do not have enough to eat.
When food rots, it creates methane (CH4) which has 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. Every time food is wasted, it is not just only about the food. The water, energy, time, manpower, land, fertilizer, fuel, packaging and MONEY put into growing, preparing, storing, transporting, cooking the food is also wasted.
If food waste was a country, it would be the world’s 3rd largest emitter of CO2.
Food waste can be generated from
- Spoiled or out of date food
- Peelings & trimmings
- Inedible by-products, e.g. bones, coffee grounds, tea leaves
- Kitchen error
- Plate waste
So, what do we do to reduce and properly manage our food waste
- Shop wisely
- Store food correctly
- Use your freezer
- Cook what you need
- Use leftovers
- Refuse and re-use packaging
- Recycle waste
- Compost food scraps
- Finish all foods cooked
- Grow your own food.
Lets do our part in helping our environment.
