A little while ago we shared our 9 food waste challenges to try (you can find them on the site in the Change blog or scroll back in our feed). You can tell it’s pre worldwide lockdown because Chelsea took the challenge and went to a restaurant – remember those days?!
Why food waste? It’s one of the top issues we need to address in terms of potential impact to limit global heating. In fact it’s the number one measure for limiting to 2 degrees celsius of warming on Project Drawdown or the third to limit to 1.5 degrees.
Food waste is everywhere and this is an area that us individuals play a huge part in.
🏡 We waste 30-50% of food in industrialized countries which is insane and a huge contributor to our personal footprint.
🌽 A lot of that food required land-use change, deforestation, chemicals, fossil fuels to truck it in and out, process it at farms, get it to to our shops, drive it to our homes and then use electricity to keep it cool or frozen.
Food waste in general is pretty scandalous as it’s a problem we face in high-income countries, whilst due to the inequality within our countries, and poverty in others, many millions are simultaneously going hungry. In Australia, one of the wealthiest countries on Earth, research shows 1 in 5 people are food insecure. That’s truly staggering and devastating in such a rich land that is also one of the biggest exporters of beef, and is a food bowl in numerous regions. Women area also 50% more likely to experience food insecurity than men.
Our food waste challenges are all about saving money and using up as much as humanly possible. These are skills we can all learn and once they’re a habit we’ll have that nudging voice to keep doing them. If it’s accessible to you during this crisis (and it’s fine if it isn’t – surviving comes first) you could give one of these challenges a whirl and be inspired by @ecoconsciousconsumer.
Check out Chelsea’s blog post on our site (link in bio) and follow her @ecoconsciousconsumer – we’re so grateful for this diary and Chelsea’s examples and recommendations!
🥕Got a fav food waste tip?
