Reducing the Environmental impact of foodwaste
Reducing the environmental impact of food waste
Written on 02/06/2022 by Lonieke Horninge, conservationist at The Habitat People. Also an anti food waste warrior and known Aberdeen food redistributor.
Food waste is a big issue globally, with an estimated 1.3 billion (!) tonnes wasted every year. That is approximately a third of production, an absolutely staggering number. In the latest figures published by WRAP* (the UK Waste and Resources Action Programme), it is reported that in 2018, around 9.5 million tonnes of food was wasted in the UK, which had a value of over £19 billion. The majority of this (70%) is generated by households. In addition to the wasted resources, 36 million tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were generated with the production (Food Surplus and Waste in the UK – Key Facts | WRAP).
Food waste is a terrible burden on the environment and a huge contributor to global warming. The more food that is wasted, the more food needs to be produced. This constant need to produce more puts additional pressure on the environment. Each year, 25 million acres of land are deforested worldwide in order to grow food. We desperately need is a mass shift of people’s (producers as well as consumers) thoughts and attitudes on food waste, so that we can hopefully decrease the figures mentioned above to a more acceptable level in the near future.
Thankfully, it does seem that attitudes towards food waste are slowly changing in the UK, with more and more action being taken by individuals and companies to combat it. In recent years, there has been an increase in apps where people, as well as companies, share food and other items with each other so they don’t go to waste. Examples of these are Olio, where you can offer or collect free food from people near you, and Too Good To Go, where restaurants, cafes and supermarkets offer their surplus food for a reduced price and the end of a day.
New companies such as the Two Raccoons** bring further hope to the situation. This duo collects surplus fruit that would otherwise end up in the bin, and create tasty and unique wines with it*. Thanks to examples like these, WRAP estimates that around 740,000 tonnes of the food surplus is being redistributed via charitable and commercial routes. The best way forward is to keep raising awareness with producers, retailers and consumers to change their ways and to be more mindful of their habits, something I hope this blog has achieved with you, the reader.
*Have a look on https://wrap.org.uk/ to see what you can do to reduce food waste!
**Check out the Two Raccoons on their Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/TwoRaccoonsWinery
References:
- WRAP, Food Surplus and Waste in the UK – Key Facts WRAP, Foodhttps://wrap.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-10/food-%20surplus-and-%20waste-in-the-%20uk-key-facts-oct-21.pdf
- Welch, D., Swaffield, J. and Evans, D., 2018. Who’s responsible for food waste? Consumers, retailers and the food waste discourse coalition in the United Kingdom. Journal of Consumer Culture, 21(2), pp.236-256.
Go for sustainability to help with food waste
Two Raccoons are a brilliant company that utilises fruit waste and turn it into delicious wine. Check them out to help decrease the huge amount of food waste!
They also offset their carbon emissions with us! If you’re interested in offseting your own or your company’s carbon emissions, don’t hesitate to contact us!
