How much food do you waste ?

[studiot]

It is said (the WHO)   that 'food waste' accounts for 10% of our greenhouse gas emissions.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-51450727

 

So how much do you think you waste?

[Phi for All]

My household started a diet at the beginning of the year that bans processed foods. Besides egg cartons, we've had very little packaging to throw away. I could easily go 3 weeks between trash pickups. It's been an eye-opener in a lot of ways.

[MigL]

My problem is I don't waste any.
I eat way too much.

I should do like Phi; my knees say I should drop about 20 lbs.

( and like Phi, if it wasn't for the cat litter, I could easily go 3-4 weeks between garbage pick-up )

Edited February 13, 2020 by MigL

[Sensei]

3 hours ago, studiot said:

So how much do you think you waste?

Nearly zero. Because the most of time I am buying every day fresh new (and eat it the same day).

Waste is result of buying too much than possible to be eaten. Which ends in exceeding expiration date of some products.

Overweight people often say that they could not throw it away, so they eat everything they have bought (and this is too much).

Food producers and governments are happy as they earn more money and collect more taxes from larger sales.

Edited February 13, 2020 by Sensei

[zapatos]

Most of our food waste comes from our garden. We grow much more than we eat, can, or give away. We have a beautiful compost pile. Our chickens do a good job of eating a lot of our over-ripe produce too. Fortunately I'm happy eating the same thing multiple days in a row which also helps keep waste to a minimum.

[Endy0816]

Work lunches and occasionally eating out, are my problem areas now. Overly large portion sizes definitely contribute 😕

At the house I've switched to a mostly liquid diet(Soylent) for dinners. Not for everyone, but helps to eliminate portion sizes and spoilage issues. A month's worth of dinner shows up on my doorstep and they're good for a year.

 

Edited February 13, 2020 by Endy0816

[Phi for All]

3 hours ago, MigL said:

(and like Phi, if it wasn't for the cat litter, I could easily go 3-4 weeks between garbage pick-up )

And this is why I can't go longer. Two cats are putting out as much trash as four humans. They're our major source of recycled containers as well. 

But we forgive them.

[Danijel Gorupec]

6 hours ago, Phi for All said:

My household started a diet at the beginning of the year that bans processed foods. Besides egg cartons, we've had very little packaging to throw away. I could easily go 3 weeks between trash pickups. It's been an eye-opener in a lot of ways.

But isn't processed food invented to decrease food waste?

[swansont]

4 hours ago, Danijel Gorupec said:

But isn't processed food invented to decrease food waste?

I think it was to save time and make transport more efficient. The one way it decreases waste is if it reduces losses to spoilage. But that has little to do with how much packaging that goes in the trash, which is what Phi was saying.

———

My food waste is because of the tendency for the stores to sell large (economy/family size) packages of food at the exclusion of smaller portions, and some of that starts to go bad before I eat it all.  Either the volume I consume, or I get sick of having the same meal multiple times. 

[Phi for All]

6 hours ago, Danijel Gorupec said:

But isn't processed food invented to decrease food waste?

There's two issues here, the actual food being wasted, and the packaging that needs to be trashed. Processing may cut down on the former, but it adds to the latter. And even with non- or minimally processed foods, like meats, they still have to put it on a styro skid and put cling wrap on it. 

2 hours ago, swansont said:

My food waste is because of the tendency for the stores to sell large (economy/family size) packages of food at the exclusion of smaller portions, and some of that starts to go bad before I eat it all.  Either the volume I consume, or I get sick of having the same meal multiple times. 

It's hard to pass up 3# of broccoli at Costco when it's half the price of the grocery. But by the end of the week, broccoli has been in every other meal and everyone wants something else. I've tried to interest friends and neighbors in splitting some of these purchases, but it always falls apart.

 

[iNow]

I barely waste any food at all. Quite good at random inspired combinations of leftovers in the skillet, for example.

My young kids, however? They're food wasting monsters!! 

I try to help eat what they leave, but that then leads to a new stream of waste... pants that no longer fit. 

[dimreepr]

1 hour ago, Phi for All said:

It's hard to pass up 3# of broccoli at Costco when it's half the price of the grocery. But by the end of the week, broccoli has been in every other meal and everyone wants something else. I've tried to interest friends and neighbors in splitting some of these purchases, but it always falls apart.

Indeed, the question isn't who, It's why. And the why is, not me... But I do work at Costco...

[iNow]

That’s what freezers are for

[Phi for All]

12 minutes ago, iNow said:

That’s what freezers are for

I had a friend who turned an investment in a deep freezer into an art form. She used almost every scrap of food she bought. She would even put water left over from reconstituting expensive dried mushrooms in ice cube trays, so she could pop a couple of cubes into a recipe for that great flavor.

[dimreepr]

23 minutes ago, iNow said:

That’s what freezers are for

who knew.

[iNow]

16 minutes ago, Phi for All said:

She would even put water left over from reconstituting expensive dried mushrooms in ice cube trays, so she could pop a couple of cubes into a recipe for that great flavor.

Works also with basil and related fresh herbs

[zapatos]

My brother-in-law won't waste anything. Every other year we make a large batch of apple butter (yield is about 60 quarts). He can't stand to throw away all the apple peels so he uses it to make some really disgusting apple jelly then gives it out to all the relatives. Then it is up to us to throw it out...

[iNow]

4 minutes ago, zapatos said:

My brother-in-law won't waste anything. Every other year we make a large batch of apple butter (yield is about 60 quarts). He can't stand to throw away all the apple peels so he uses it to make some really disgusting apple jelly then gives it out to all the relatives. Then it is up to us to throw it out...

He should make chips out of them instead. Would likely be better received by the family (unless the reaction of disgust is what he's going for?): https://tasty.co/recipe/apple-peel-chips

[zapatos]

1 minute ago, iNow said:

He should make chips out of them instead. Would likely be better received by the family (unless the reaction of disgust is what he's going for?): https://tasty.co/recipe/apple-peel-chips

That's perfect! Thanks! I'll pass it along. Even he admits the jelly tastes like crap. I have no idea why he keeps making it.

[Phi for All]

32 minutes ago, zapatos said:

Even he admits the jelly tastes like crap. I have no idea why he keeps making it.

Bragging rights. He has a reputation for not wasting anything. A good brand takes work.

It's a shame it sucks though. He should at least get a better recipe. Tell him he should label his scrap apple jelly under a catchy name, like Uncle Stingy's, or The Shrewd Dude, or Frugal Fruits. It's a blot on his don't-waste-anything record if the family has to throw it away.

[J.C.MacSwell]

On 2/13/2020 at 11:56 AM, Phi for All said:

I had a friend who turned an investment in a deep freezer into an art form. She used almost every scrap of food she bought. She would even put water left over from reconstituting expensive dried mushrooms in ice cube trays, so she could pop a couple of cubes into a recipe for that great flavor.

The problem with our "deep" freezer is that we only use the top few inches of it...peaking below that is a little scary...full of stuff that if thrown out would need expensive replacements that would not be eaten either...

[zapatos]

5 minutes ago, J.C.MacSwell said:

The problem with our "deep" freezer is that we only use the top few inches of it...peaking below that is a little scary...full of stuff that if thrown out would need expensive replacements that would not be eaten either...

That's exactly why we avoided buying one. Things get lost in my regular freezer. When you haven't seen that pork roast in the freezer for six months you forget it is there and just buy a new one when you get the craving.

[QuantumT]

I cut the crusts off my sandwiches, but besides that I have almost zero waste.
My freezer is so stuffed, that the plastic drawers in it have cracked 😁

[Curious layman]

Fresh fruit and veg is my biggest waste, especially bananas. I'll buy some, eat 2 then never feel in the mood to eat the rest. Do it all the time. 

Different now though. Not wasting anything. 

[Phi for All]

1 hour ago, J.C.MacSwell said:

The problem with our "deep" freezer is that we only use the top few inches of it...peaking below that is a little scary...full of stuff that if thrown out would need expensive replacements that would not be eaten either...

I always wondered how my friend rotated her "stock". It seemed like such a pain that when I decided to buy a deep freeze, I went with an upright rather than a chest model. Saves space and it's much easier to pull from, but I doubt I can store as much as you can.