What To Do With All Of That Food Waste?

Contributed by Karen Price, Hive National (Florida)

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News regarding the environment can be overwhelming and it can be difficult to feel like we can make a difference.

I, Karen, am here to tell you there are many ways we can do our part - and reining in our food waste is one we can easily manage.

We waste A LOT of food in the US, actually more than any other country! The US alone wastes approximately 60 million tons or 120 billion pounds a year -YIKES! This is 40% of the entire US food supply! 

There are several reasons for this. Food is easily accessible and abundant for most of us, bulk buying of produce is common, and most of us don't fully understand expiration labels. Let's learn about what to do with all of that food waste!

Food waste is a problem because:

• Nearly 35 million people across the US live with food insecurity and 10 million of them are kids. 

• Wasting food has significant environmental repercussions. 

  It wastes the water and the energy it takes to produce and distribute the food.  

• The food that sits in landfills instead of composting produces nitrogen pollution which causes algae blooms and dead zones in our environment. 

• According to the World Wildlife Federation, the production of wasted food in the US is equivalent to the greenhouse emission of 37 million cars. Phew!

What can we do to mitigate all of this?

• Plan meals and make deliberate grocery store shopping lists. (paper lists can be composted too)

• Freeze food that you aren't going to eat immediately so that you can keep it and use at a later date. Try these reusable freezer bags.

• Share the wealth and donate food to pantries.

• Understand "BEST IF USED BY"dates. This label describes the quality of the food, not its safety. It might not taste its best after the date listed, but it is still safe to consume.

• Understand "USE BY" dates. This label describes the few products that are highly perishable and or have food safety concerns over time. Check these dates when buying food so you don't buy items that will expire in a day or two.

• Learn how to compost. Compost at your own home (there are several types of home composting containers that work really great. Try the Lomi Electric Composter that is super quick and easy or an Outdoor Tumbling Composter) and then use it in plants or a garden to enrich the soil. You can also hire a composting company to pick up your compost if you don't have a place to use it at home. Even better yet, write to your local leaders to have composting included in your waste management fees. 

Three BIG reasons we should compost:

1. As mentioned before, keeping food waste out of landfills reduces greenhouse gases released from rotting food.

2. Our landfills are filling up too fast and we don't have space for new landfills (and who wants a landfill in your neighborhood - NO ONE). Many countries have large scale composting programs where food waste is picked up weekly, just like the regular garbage, and taken to a composting site so it doesn't go into a landfill. In those countries, composting is the norm and is done by everyone.

3. Composting enriches our soil and improves the quality and nutrition of the food we grow. When we don't put nutrients back in the soil (when we don't compost), the soil is lacking and fruits and vegetables just don't taste as good. (We have all had that bland, barely-red tomato that is only a shadow of what it could be if grown in composted soil.)

   
   

This is just scratching the surface so if you want to learn more go to:

https://www.rts.com/resources/guides/food-waste-america/

Nature gives us so much, let's try to lend a helping hand in return.

Karen, Conservationist Corner