FOOD WASTE IS ONE OF THE MAIN CONTRIBUTIONS TO CLIMATE CHANGE.
Yes, you heard that right. A daily habit most of us possess contributes 8% of the world Green House Gas Emissions and an estimated global cost of €1.2 trillion of profit is lost every year according to Bord Bia.
First of all, what is food waste? By definition, it refers to
food appropriate for human consumption being discarded or left to spoil at the consumer level – regardless of the cause
(HLPE, 2014). In simpler terms, it’s that avocado you forgot about in the back of your fridge, the leftovers of last nights dinner that went straight into the bin and the many other foods which may have been unnecessarily bought in this weeks shopping.
With that being said, there are lots of simple ways you can reduce your food waste. Here are our four tips to get you started!
MAKE LISTS
Making a list before doing your weekly grocery shop lowers the chances of you overbuying food you don't need to begin with! Beware of falling into a trap of clever product placement; that fresh smelling bread mightn't go down too well when you find your bread bin already cramped when you get home. Get started making shopping lists with one of our notebooks.
ADAPT RECIPES
Avoid food waste by not sticking to the book for a change. Add your own twist to various recipes found in our award-winning cookbooks by mixing and matching ingredients. You'll use up the food you already had while getting creative in the kitchen it's a win-win!
Food Storage
Learn more about storing your food correctly to keep it fresh for longer. Many people commonly make basic mistakes such as storing your milk in the fridge door rather than the coldest part aka the back of the fridge. Keep foods like tomatoes, bread and avocados out of the fridge. Make sure to check out our to take your food storage to the next level!
Seasonal Shopping
By only purchasing foods in season, you're getting fresher food with better taste and higher nutritional value at a cheaper price and you're also helping the environment hugely. Due to the smaller demand for season produce, this helps to reduce our carbon footprint in relation to production and transportation. Remember to always try to buy local produce with longer shelf lives to cut down on your food waste.
Every day is a new challenge and a new opportunity to find something that works for you. Just remember that small changes make a huge difference!
