Waste of food. Since the count of inhabitants in the world, the number of inhabitants in the world stands at 7 billion. To feed them all every day there is work to be done, still 15 to 20 thousand children die of hunger every day. And as recent research shows, 30% of Dutch people throw food or drinks away at least a few times a week. And the worst part is that the food is what is still perfectly edible. That is skewed at best.
More consequences
In addition to food shortages on one side of the world and surplus on the other, there are environmental consequences, which in turn is harmful to food production and so the vicious circle is complete. Not only is the waste mountain increased, but also all the energy needed to produce and transport that discarded food is lost and has been for nothing.
Reasons
Why we waste so much food has several reasons. Apparently, we can afford it financially. The most common reason is that the product is over the best before date (THT), but there is also something like the ‘use to use’ (TGT) date, people often don’t look at that. Other reasons are: ‘too much bought in’ or ‘the food was actually not really tasty’.
What can we improve as consumers
They look like open doors, but apparently they still need to be opened. Do grocery shopping with policies and so don’t buy too much, don’t buy to buy it. The same policy applies in the kitchen: cook enough, but not overly much. Besides the THT, pay attention to the TGT, there is a lot of difference between them. In addition, there are many products that remain edible well beyond the dates mentioned. Think of, but not only, chips (salt preserves), cheese (already contains fungi), fruit and vegetables (as long as no ‘rotten’ is visible it is fine to eat) and rice which remains packed for years well. You can easily store too much bought, or overcooked food (instead of throwing it away and wasting). Everything you have too much you can freeze and, depending on what it is, you can store for weeks to months. Just defrost when (re)using and warming up. Another good way to avoid food waste is by cooking with meal boxes.
And the producer
Marketers and suppliers can also do their bit by packing smaller portions better. Also by a good explanation about the THT and TGT. In addition, it works fine to put food that is at the best of life dates in the offer.
RELATED POSTS
Leave a reply