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| Food waste; How is this calculated? | |
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| Topic Started: Dec 26 2015, 07:29 AM (637 Views) | |
| heatseeker | Dec 26 2015, 07:29 AM Post #1 |
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Veteran Member
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It's a day of vast indulgence, so I thought this topic was especially appropriate. With climate change in the wind, we are being bombarded by stories deploring the amount of food we buy and throw out -- the story in the link below estimates it at $31 billion in Canada, or 50 per cent of our food. But what exactly is "waste"? I've just finished preparing a huge pile of spuds, brussels sprouts and other stuff for Christmas dinner, and the trimmings half fill our little kitchen recycling bin. I'd say in an average week we probably put out 40 or 50 pounds of food waste for four people, plus guests. This is comprised of vegetable trimmings, coffee grounds, bones, the odd carrot, apple, potato or onion that is rotten in the package, etc. This stuff is mixed with wood chips by the city and made into very good compost, which is then available free of charge if you want to pick it up. As you can see, we throw out a lot, but don't in fact waste much, if anything. So where does all the food wastage come in? I've read that in India, more than half of the crops go to waste, because of rats, no refrigeration and very poor infrastructure to get food to market. This is certainly not the case here. Any thoughts? Enjoy your festive dinner. http://globalnews.ca/news/2075857/food-waste-at-record-levels-as-other-canadians-go-hungry/ Edited by heatseeker, Dec 26 2015, 07:30 AM.
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| campy | Dec 26 2015, 07:37 AM Post #2 |
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Handyman Extraordinaire
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Leftovers that you throw in the garbage goes into the landfill. It is food not garbage. Does not get recycled . Just plowed over. It would be o.k. if you composted it yourself and used the compost. I payed for that stuff so I wasted money. I try to just prepare enough so no leftovers at all. It's not that hard to do. My mother woud have a heart attack if she saw how much food we throw out. Edited by campy, Dec 26 2015, 07:37 AM.
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| heatseeker | Dec 26 2015, 07:39 AM Post #3 |
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Veteran Member
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Not in Toronto. As I said above, it is composted by the city. At our place in eastern Ontario we compost everything we can ourselves. |
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| campy | Dec 26 2015, 07:53 AM Post #4 |
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Handyman Extraordinaire
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So you separate food waste for the city. Some restaurants here have contracts and save the leftovers for pickup which is fed to pigs. That goes back into food. Maybe that's why pork is still reasonable. You can't do that with cattle. |
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| Shorty | Dec 26 2015, 08:32 AM Post #5 |
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Red Star Member
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In Vancouver they have separate bins for compost, papers, etc. Very little is garbage. Since it's not my house, I'm not used to the system. They are using special small brown bags to hold the compostible food scraps. Bet those aren't cheap. A big difference between BC and Ontario is the recycling fee charged for pop and water containers. In BC it is 5 cents for pop and ten cents for a beer can. A large majority gets returned. Sorry, off topic here. I like leftovers, they become lunch. Agree with heat seeker about the trimmings that end up in the garbage. It can't be avoided. Even being conscious of using food up, I sometimes forget something. I do try buy much smaller amounts now. The fridge is small so I buy small bottles of things. With BB dates on almost everything, you realize how old some items are. Even allowing for a time extension, some things are still too old to keep. We've noticed our kids are less conscious of waste than we are. |
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| margrace | Dec 26 2015, 09:57 AM Post #6 |
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Gold Star Member
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We have no waste what we don't eat goes to the small animals who are our friends especially skunks |
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| Trotsky | Dec 27 2015, 02:07 AM Post #7 |
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Big City Boy
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We generate very little food wastes. By now, I know EXACTLY how much we eat/overeat. Of course, there is normal preparation wastes like last week we had copious amounts of Brussels sprouts trimmings, onios peels, Winter squash and avocado and potato peels. I would compost the like if I could but I fear they are just put on a barge and sent to an African country for burial. Edited by Trotsky, Dec 27 2015, 02:20 AM.
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| Darcie | Dec 27 2015, 02:44 AM Post #8 |
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Skeptic
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My grandmother used to take vegetable peelings, pieces that were discarded and put them in a pot, cover with water and boil it, strain it and put it in the fridge. She used this in any soup she make. What was left over was buried in the garden in various spots and then turned over in the fall when it was plowed. |
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| angora | Dec 27 2015, 03:34 AM Post #9 |
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WWS Book Club Coordinator
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We rented out our farm once. The renters raised pigs. The only food those poor pigs were ever fed was stale doughnuts. The guy had a deal with the local doughnut shops. Not good. |
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| agate | Dec 27 2015, 04:18 AM Post #10 |
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Thanks Heat, we did enjoy our festive dinner. And yes it did produce lots of organic waste from all the veggie peelings. I don't compost like I used to. In the GVRD ( greater Vancouver area) they all have to put this waste into containers. My son says in the condo were he lives it is a huge smelly mess, especially in summer. And yes now there is starting to be a problem with rats. |
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| Shorty | Dec 27 2015, 02:01 PM Post #11 |
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Red Star Member
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I can believe that after watching the DIL and family. They're following the rules. The rules may need adjusting? I knew a woman who grew up dirt poor in the Ozarks. When times were bad, they fried the half rotten lettuce in grease. We're pretty spoiled now. |
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| erka | Dec 27 2015, 02:10 PM Post #12 |
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Gold Star Member
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Not only is there odor from the green bins, but also from the composting facility: Vancouver is targeting zero waste (which I support) and it will be a smelly business: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/why-does-it-stink-in-richmond-too-much-organic-compost/article5904653/ Would you eat stale dated but perfectly good food? 40% of the food produced is wasted. https://www.knowledge.ca/program/just-eat-it |
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| agate | Dec 27 2015, 03:44 PM Post #13 |
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I am going to work hard at reducing my food waste especially after this feasting of the last few days. I have to learn to do way less food as I have way to much left and have had to throw out some things like the dip stuff that did not get eaten. As it is right now I will only need milk & cat food in the coming weeks. |
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| campy | Dec 27 2015, 05:13 PM Post #14 |
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Handyman Extraordinaire
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We are O.K. But in some countries, a main source of food for poor people is the dump. Now. Is that wasting food or isn't it? |
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| margrace | Dec 28 2015, 04:49 AM Post #15 |
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Gold Star Member
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I once had a friend whose commented on Mother Theresa, he said she should not be doing what she was doing. It was better to just let those people starve, my friend died rather young of a bad cancer go figure |
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