6 tips to avoid food waste at home

Did you know that every year around one-third of the food produced for human consumption is wasted or lost globally?

Food waste is a current problem that has been the focus of attention by organizations, governments, and many people who advocate for a life with less waste and more health for our planet.

But what is food waste, what are its consequences, and how can we reduce it? Find out the answers to all these questions.

What is food waste?

In the European Union, for example, around 88 million tonnes of food waste are generated each year, costing around 143 billion euros, and in the United States, 40% of food is wasted.

The concept of food waste is considered imprecise because it can be difficult to distinguish. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the generation of food waste can be differentiated between food loss and food waste. But what is the difference between the two?

• Food loss: occurs when food is produced for human consumption but is not eaten by people because it is lost during production stages such as harvesting, storage, or transport. For example, it can be caused by inefficiencies along the supply chain (inadequate infrastructure and technologies or lack of access to markets).
• Food waste: food is intended for human consumption but ends up being discarded or left in situations where it spoils. For example, it can happen when a product does not meet certain aesthetic criteria for the consumer or retailer. 

Where does food loss and waste occur?

According to Foodprint, food loss and waste have several origins.

Food loss: can occur at various points in the food chain, for example, on farms, fishing boats, in factories, and in transport and distribution networks.

Food waste: can occur in retail companies, restaurants, institutions, and people's homes.

Food loss and waste in the world

There are differences between the contexts in which food loss and waste occur. That is, differences are noticeable throughout the stages of the food supply chain in developed and developing countries.

Food loss is high in both developed and developing countries, although the stages at which this loss occurs are different (image 1). Food waste, on the other hand, occurs mostly in developed countries.

Source: FAO

But… what are the consequences of this food waste?

This problem has negative consequences for the world at the ethical, social, environmental, and economic levels.

• This food waste contrasts clearly with a reality that also exists in many families: food deprivation. The European Commission states that around 33 million people in the European Union cannot afford a meal every two days;
• At the economic level, the problem can be twofold: the fact that there is population growth predicts that demand will exceed supply, leading to increased product prices and purchasing inequality among people. This prediction leads to higher production, resulting in an unsustainable food system;
• At the environmental level, food production is one of the main causes of greenhouse gas emissions, from its production through industrialized agriculture, through marketing and transport, and ending with disposal in landfills where it rots. According to the European Commission, food waste generates around 8% of these emissions globally. In addition, there is an impact on natural resources in food production, such as water, needed for irrigation, soil, essential for planting, and fuels that enable transport.

In the following chart, we can see that food is responsible for 26% of greenhouse gas emissions globally. Agriculture uses around 70% of water for production and causes 78% of ocean and freshwater pollution.

How can you reduce or eliminate waste?

After seeing all this data, we believe you are even more eager to eliminate food waste from your life. Therefore, we are giving you some tips to achieve it!

Plan your meals

You can make a weekly meal list so you can have a better idea of the products you will need for cooking. Also write down the quantities needed for each product according to the number of meals you will make (for example: cabbage - 2 dinners).

Don't forget to check what you already have at home before going shopping. This way, when you go to a grocery store or supermarket, you buy only what you really need (an important tip: buy in bulk), saving money and having fresh food in your daily diet. And remember: it is good to buy ugly vegetables and fruit!

Pay attention to the expiration date

Some foods, due to their composition, may spoil more easily, so it is important to consider the expiration date to understand the shelf life of the product you are going to buy.

At home, when tidying up, you should also place the products whose expiration date ends sooner at the front so they are used before the rest.

Store it properly!

Storage depends on each food. Some fruits and vegetables should be kept in cool places, in the proper compartments, so they do not spoil as easily. Some fruits, such as bananas and apples, release ethylene (a gas responsible for their ripening), so it is important to separate them from the rest of the products.

Save more!

With leftovers from some meals or foods, you can invent and create a new favorite dish! If it is safe and healthy, you can also use the parts of some foods that you do not eat (such as vegetable peels) to make vegetable broth. In addition, there are several ways to reuse food: when you go to a restaurant and leave food on your plate, ask to take it home and eat it later! This way, you avoid waste in these establishments.

Against food waste, in favor of the planet

In Portugal, as a way to eliminate this global problem, there are associations that work to prevent this waste along the supply chain and, furthermore, feed those who need it most. Get to know some of them with which you can make a difference:

• Re-food: “Eliminate food waste and hunger by involving the entire community in a common cause.”
• Zero Desperdício: “ZERO WASTE by DARIACORDAR has as its main objective to reduce waste generation.”
• Fruta Feia: “This project aims to combat a market inefficiency by creating an alternative market for “ugly” fruit and vegetables that can change consumption patterns. A market that creates value for farmers and consumers and combats both food waste and the unnecessary expenditure of resources used in its production.”
• GoodAfter: “online supermarket dedicated to selling products that are near the end of their best-before date, or even past that date.”

Useful APPS: Eliminate food waste with the help of a click

With the amount of daily information and all the daily tasks, there is not always time to research and read content on the topics we want. Therefore, you have apps that help you on this path:

• Waste App: it is developed by QUERCUS and “emerges from the need to inform citizens about the destinations of various waste that cannot be placed in recycling bins.”
• ShareWaste: allows you to find people near our region who have or accept waste for composting
• To Good To Go: “At Too Good To Go, we dream of a planet without food waste and, every day, we work hard so that this dream becomes a reality. Our app is the most direct way to get involved: download it, sign up, and buy great food that would have been wasted in establishments near you.”
• Phenix: “Phenix connects those who have an excess with those who do not have enough. Thus, we give a responsible and solidarity-based second life to surplus, and complete the cycle!”

Do you already avoid food waste in your home? Share your ideas with us. Follow our blog and stay up to date with more news and inspiration on sustainability. 

Author: Daniela Matos