I’ve been thinking a lot about food recently. I don’t know if it’s because we just got over the holiday season where I felt like the only thing I did consistently was EAT. Or maybe it’s because it’s the beginning of the year and people have new year’s resolutions to eat better…
Regardless, I’ve been pondering our food system. Which always gets a little gloomy.
First off, Christmas – how much food was wasted this past year? Yes of course there are leftovers, but some of those containers end up in the back of the fridge only to be looked at months later when they have become a petri dish with bacterial growth. And only someone with a VERY strong stomach dares open the container and compost the food so that they can avoid it going to landfill, along with the food storage container.
Food waste in the household is a problem. We buy things because they look cool on the shelf, or we want to switch up our regular weekly menu, or because they are a healthier alternative to the norm. But the thing about habits is that they are… well… habitual. Even though you have good intentions buying that new food item, you are most likely to go back to what you always eat and then the new exciting food falls by the wayside.
Food waste in the household also occurs because of:
- improper storage of items (especially produce)
- oversized portions that become neglected leftovers
- being overzealous in the store because your fridge will look so lush and beautiful when you get home
- confusing food labels
Some of these can be prevented by measures such as:
- researching the best way to store your food items to extend the shelf life
- only making portions as big as you need, and making a mental note to eat leftovers for lunch the next day
- writing a list before you to go the store, and STICKING WITH IT!
- giving yourself enough time to thoroughly read food labels to make sure you are buying the proper thing
It’s all about organization right?
Yes, but unfortunately most food waste in the world happens before we get to the store.
Consumers have created a demand for beautiful food items like produce, and stores must deliver! If not, their “loyal” customers will shop elsewhere. Can you imagine? “Ew, why do these peppers look shriveled?” or “Why is this tomato this shape? It’s just wrong.” We’ve become so privileged to expect and demand perfect items. And so, before these produce items even get to the store, they are critically analyzed by farmers for very brief moments before getting rejected because they do not fit into the ideal of perfect - either for being too big, too small, oddly shaped, a small bruise on them etc. And somehow it has become more cost effective to do this, and let the wayward produce rot and become compost on the fields!
(I don’t know if you’ve ever had a garden or even a potted plant of a fruit or vegetable. But it takes a lot of work and love! You have to monitor it, water it, make sure it’s getting enough sun, analyze it for pests, etc. And can you imagine after all those weeks or months of labour you just toss the red pepper out! I feel like as a species, humans really need to get back to basics and learn how much effort goes into producing food so that we check our privilege.)
So once the peppers, say, have been selected from the farm, they are now ready to be shipped, and oh how far they travel! Of course there will be some local options at your grocery store, especially in season, but a lot of it is cheaper to get from China, Mexico or the US (if you’re in Canada). So to prepare these peppers for their long journey, they must be sprayed with a preservative of some sort, or put into shipping containers that keep them dormant by darkness or temperature – which requires a lot of energy. And then a tremendous amount of fuel is required to ship these peppers, as well as time and (wo)manpower.
So then the peppers get to the produce warehouse, to be analyzed further by workers at the warehouse, and the ones deemed fit are sent to be shipped to stores all across the province. More fuel required, and time and employees.
And then finally the peppers get to the store, where the produce clerk will inspect them before putting them on the floor to be sold. Any ones that have bruises or weird marks are tossed – hopefully in the compost? The ones that remain get to be picked over by customers – yay! Finally we are at the happy part of the tale? Not really, because as customers pick over them, they may get dropped or scratched and then they will form spots or bruises, which makes people not want to buy them. And at the end of the day they may get tossed by employees.
And, as we established before, even if they are selected by a customer in their pristine state, and taken home, all sorts of trials may fall on them! They may be stored incorrectly, or be one of too many peppers that will eventually get tossed because they start to mould.
I am not writing this to shame or guilt anyone because honestly most people do this. It has become a societal norm. I am writing this for awareness. We need to know what is going on behind the scenes of our daily norm. There are so many people who can’t afford food because they have to choose between that or housing. And there are so many people who are affected by homelessness and need access to food. We, the privileged, the ones who can afford food, are the ones who can enact change.
A not-for-profit I discovered the other day that is based in Toronto, Ontario is trying to break this cycle of waste. They are called “Second Harvest” (www.secondharvest.ca) and they have an extended program called “Food Rescue” (www.foodrescue.ca) which is located in areas all over Ontario and BC. What they’ve done is made connections with local food retailers to have them donate any food that is approaching or passed its “best before” date, or any produce that they won’t be able to sell before it goes bad. It is such a wonderful relationship that they’ve forged because they allow the retailers to reduce their food waste, donate to a charitable organization which gives them tax benefits, and help others in the community! The food is donated to local shelters and other non-profits to prepare and distribute to those in need, where it will definitely be eaten before it goes to waste.
I’ve gone into grocery stores before to see if they will donate bananas that are going brown or bread that is day-old to the Nutrition for Learning breakfast club I run in Waterloo, but I’ve been told “We aren’t allowed to do it due to health code reasons”. What I’ve learned since then is that in Ontario (not sure of other provinces) a company cannot actually be sued for donating food if someone becomes ill from the food. As long as the company gives it in good faith and is not intentionally trying to harm someone they are safe to donate with no repercussions. Second Harvest takes it one step further by having volunteers visit places that will be preparing these donated food items to make sure they are following proper food safe handling practices.
I feel like we need to start a revolution!
Make it the norm to ask your local grocery retailer if they would consider donating their food to a non-profit – Second Harvest even has a formal letter you can send them!
Make it the norm to buy “ugly produce” rather than the pristine ones!
Make it the norm to buy from nearby farms and support your local economy!
Do what you can in your circumstances to be a little bit more conscious of the corruption that is our current food industry.
