Saturday 1 March 2014

I Hate Waste.


                                    

I've just heard on the radio that the world wastes between a third and a quarter of it's annual food production.

Frankly, I find this outrageous.

Let me assure you that in the Magnon household NOTHING is wasted. Occasionally we do have a glut of Quinces or Bramleys, but they all end up on the compost heap and the following year are re-cycled into the ground.

Any stale bread is given to the hens (very rare), any fruit or vegetable peelings also go to the compost, and if by miscalculation I cook a little too much pasta or rice the dogs are always happy to join us at table.

I'm constantly hearing tales of people who roast a chicken, eat half of it, then dump the rest. I even heard advice last Christmas about what people should do with the remains of their lunchtime Turkey (rather than chucking it). Who are these people who throw away all this good food?

I've just been to have a look in my fridge; there's nothing in there that will not be eaten. I buy what I need for several days in advance, and nothing is surplus to requirements.

When at the supermarket check-out, I often see young women (yes, I'm afraid it's always young women) buying piles of pre-made pizzas, quiches, and other 'ready-meals'. I presume it's these people (who probably have the most to lose financially), and the supermarkets themselves, who are responsible.

Some natural (and non-natural) wastage en route between grower, wholesaler, and retailer, is also partly responsible, and I hope they're all ashamed of themselves.

Thank goodness I was brought-up to appreciate 'my daily bread'. As a post-war baby, we were taught that wasting food was a SIN. I still believe that.


22 comments:

  1. Golly - you do sound like me - scary

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  2. Ditto, with foxes, seagulls, pigeons etc nothing is ever wasted here.
    Briony
    x

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  3. Over-buying is half the problem- with no plan in mind as to what is going to be done with the food bought. The other problem, as I see it, is sell-by dates or use-by dates - which usually are ridiculously short.

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    1. I'm sure this is the mentality of the boxed pizza buyer. Just grab a handful in case they're needed!

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  4. I throw very little away, as I always decide what we will be eating, make a list and just buy what I need. As for sell by dates…if it smells OK and doesn't have a blue furry coating it is eaten!

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  5. Couldn't agree more, food waste should be a criminal offence. I was in Aldi last week and had a look through a trolley load of various goods, thinking they were for sale. The assistant was quick to inform me that they were written off and not for sale. I assume they were to be dumped. I'll stick with Tesco for my yellow stickers.

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  6. Never ceases to amaze, I see (Yes, young people) in the superstores with trolleys piled high, the tab sometimes runs to 3 figures, and wonder how much of this will actually be eaten and how much is destined for the wheelie bin.

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  7. I do think this is a generation thing. Food has become a disposable item. Mainly bought in excess by young women who can't cook. Hence vast quantities of 'ready meals' which no-one cares about. Nothing is wasted here as I have made it from good quality ingredients, our own veg plot and any residue goes to the chickens.I'm feeling increasingly detached from everyday society. God I sound like my mother!!! Love your blog, love dogs, love France, thankyou.

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  8. People buy more than they need, they don't plan meals and then have food that goes off. We waste nothing at all

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  9. With the world population at 7.2 Billion, the amount of food wasted would feed 2.4 billion. Staggering.

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  10. Ready made pizzas (a rare treat) are never wasted in our house! Naturally I improve them (regardless what flavour it says on the box) with sliced tomato, fresh basil if I have any, loads of sliced olives and green peppers, a mountain of cheese and, in my case, a dangerous dose of hot gindungo peppers. Pizzas for us are edible plates.

    Bugger all gets wasted in our house. The dogs and goose eat what we do so any leftovers that cannot be carried over to the next day get fed to them. Some say that dogs should not be fed chicken or fish bones. Utter tosh! You should see how my dogs happily scoff the lot. The only thing I ever saw them turn their noses up at were clams.

    Apart from pizzas, (and Worcestershire sauce!) everything we eat is prepared from scratch, even our custard. Running a grocery store, we know all about wastage due to spoiling. Tomatoes that are no longer to retail standard are reduced to sauce or used in cooking, same goes for onions and other veg. We enjoy a lot of soups and stews. Stale bread is used for making crumbs or fed to the goose along with any wilted greens and uneaten rice. Even my baked beans are home made (the dogs love baked beans, must be all the roasted pork ribs and trotters used to make the tomato sauce in which the beans are baked).

    The thing is, there is never a shortage of food in our house. Unexpected visitors will always get a plate of something nice yet we waste nothing.

    Like you, I hate waste.

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    1. I think this goes to prove that the world's great wasters are 'townies'. Those of us who live out in the country tend to be much more aware of what we eat, grow, and store.

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  11. I've never really learned to cook for two but fortunately we both enjoy leftovers. I still buy huge hams and turkeys..cook them and then slice off a good half and freeze it. We're well fed but the garbage pail goes hungry.

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  12. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Sorry I'll try again.
      What I was saying was that the waste between grower and retailer is caused in the main by the retailers rejecting stuff like vegetables because they are the wrong size, shape or colour and they are dumped and the retailer does not pay. Salads for restaurant outlets can also be rejected at the last minute and end up in the nearest dump. Sorry I changed the wording because I suddenly became paranoid when I used the name of the restaurant that someone would come and get me.

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  13. I work in a food pantry and there is even waste there. It has to do with the expiration dates. Many people donate "old" food and we are allowed to give away much of it if it is within a year of the date stamped. Anything older and very stale bread gets dumped.

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  14. I am totally on your side here Cro - and supermarkets are among the biggest culprits, throwing out masses of fruit and vegetables.
    Incidentally, speaking of supermarket check outs. I stoo behind a woman with a little boy and as she got to the front of the queue she remarked that she had forgotten the potatoes and told the lad to go and get them. He returned with a large bad of frozen chips.

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  15. Make it last, use it up, wear it out, put it in the rag bag or the compost.

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  16. i never went in for pre-cooked meals and I find the older I get the thriftier I get and very little goes to waste around here.

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  17. Quite a few of preconceived (and self congratulatory) comments on this thread. What makes a townie? Someone (like myself) who once had a compost heap, worms and all, and is now battling with the city's council to do something about recycling? My son loves Pizza. He feeds me as best he can, and he and his friends will finish the rest. Not that I don't mourn all those delivery boxes going into the bin.

    As to Supermarkets. I work in research (on behalf of other people). Some years ago I did a three months stint at one of the finest (can't name names). Stacking shelves. Checking dates. 6 am to 9 am. Till the shop opened. Then it was the tills.

    Dear dog in heaven. That was something else. The amount of food thrown out. Every morning of the night before. Wasting time on recording it all. The bin area behind the store fenced off to keep food "scroungers' OUT. No doubt the chairman of that company giving generously at some charity dinner whilst quaffing Champagne.

    On a personal note: Never go shopping when you are hungry. And if you did: You can always make soup. So forgiving. Not least the blender.

    U

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