Waste not, want not

In the same week that the ABC news reported  that Australians are estimated to waste more than $5 billion worth of food and drink every year it was interesting to read the following quote in Good Living from Slow Food founder and “high priest” Carlo Petrini: “The refrigerator was invented to preserve food; now it is just a step on the way to the rubbish bin”.

With Australians throwing away, on average, the equivalent of one out of every five bags of food they buy, including $630 million of uneaten takeaway, it’s a point worth making. As a nation we need to be more aware of how much we’re buying and how much we’re really going to use.

An often unacknowledged problem is that not only are we wasting money every time we throw out a punnet of furry strawberries or bowl of leftover steamed rice, is that we’re also wasting all the resources that went into producing it – for example, water used to irrigate the crops, electricity for powering refrigerators, and fuel used to transport produce from the farm to your local supermarket.

University of Western Sydney academic, Professor Phillip O’Neill, believes the waste is a product of good intentions to buy fresh food and cook it at home.

"I think by the end of the week our good intentions have been eroded by our busy lives, about the ease of a takeaway or an eat-out," he said in the ABC report.

As a freelancer who lives within a pleasant stroll of a number of excellent food providores including Costis Seafood, AC Butchery, Bakers Delight, Norton Street Grocer and of course, Coles, I get around the whole food waste dilemma by shopping daily, or at most every second day, for only as much as I know I’m going to use to use in the next 24 or 48 hours.

While I understand this isn’t going to work for everyone, especially if you have a large family, anyone can cut down on the amount of food they waste by being organised. There are dozens of websites dedicated to the subject (including fantastic UK site Love Food, Hate Waste) but the top three tips to keep in mind are:

1) Make a shopping list to cut down on impulse buys

2) Plan meals in advance

3) Check the pantry and fridge before you shop to avoid doubling up

If I had a garden I would also add “throw scraps into a compost bin or worm farm”, to ensure food waste isn’t really wasted, onto that list. As it is I’ve been in contact with my local council about getting their food waste recycling program extended to our apartment complex. Will let you know how I go.