08.26.2019

0600

Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted. Food losses and waste amounts to roughly US$ 680 billion in industrialized countries and US$ 310 billion in developing countries.  

Some facts from the Food and Agriculture Organization of The United Nations:

• Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted.
• Food losses and waste amounts to roughly US$ 680 billion in industrialized countries and US$ 310 billion in developing countries.
• Industrialized and developing countries dissipate roughly the same quantities of food — respectively 670 and 630 million tonnes. 
• Fruits and vegetables, plus roots and tubers have the highest wastage rates of any food.
• Global quantitative food losses and waste per year are roughly 30% for cereals, 40-50% for root crops, fruits and vegetables, 20% for oil seeds, meat and dairy plus 35% for fish.
• Every year, consumers in rich countries waste almost as much food (222 million tonnes) as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa (230 million tonnes).
• The amount of food lost or wasted every year is equivalent to more than half of the world’s annual cereals crop (2.3 billion tonnes in 2009/2010).
• Per capita waste by consumers is between 95-115 kg a year in Europe and North America, while consumers in sub-Saharan Africa, south and south-eastern Asia, each throw away only 6-11 kg a year.

Food waste is an issue I pay very much attention to. I don’t like wasting food or my money. Before my city decided to implement a city wide composting program, I used a Lifetime 65 Gallon Tumbler compost. It was really helpful since I always wanted to create my own compost and not add it to my trash.

I also tried a trench compost as well, and honestly, I really enjoyed the trench compost method. I settled on the tumbler compost method because it was easier to roll and turn the compost every other day.

A successful compost will have a ratio of 20 parts brown : 1 part green. The compost pile will need at least 4-12 weeks to create a good batch. I’ll rotate the Lifetime 65 Gallon Tumbler several revolutions weekly and if the composter is mostly filled with grass, it may need to be rotated more frequently to keep the grass from matting together. The compost is done when it becomes dark brown and has an earthy smell. It can be added directly to plants as mulch or worked into soil.

WHAT TO COMPOST:

• KITCHEN SCRAPS like fruit and vegetable peelings, cores, egg shells, and coffee grounds.
• LAWN CLIPPINGS can be returned directly to the lawn with a mulching blade or composted
• as desired, especially if the grass clippings are too long to be left on the lawn.
• LEAVES can be mowed to reduce their size which will speed up decomposition and
• increase the amount which will ft in the composter.
• WOOD such as branches must be chipped or shredded in pieces smaller than1 inch.
• Saw dust must be resin free i.e. no particle board.
• PLANTS discarded from the garden, straw and hay.
• MANURES from herbivores e.g. cows, rabbits, or chickens. Excessive amounts will also increase the salt content of the compost.

WHAT NOT TO COMPOST:

• Meat, bones, greases, dairy products, or bread which attract pests. Anything treated with pesticides or herbicides.
• Black Walnut leaves which inhibit plant growth.
• Oak leaves and pine needles which decompose slowly.
• Diseased plants or weeds with seeds.
• Pet or human waste.
• Plastic, foil, etc.

I usually meal prep throughout the week, so I know how much I want to buy and consume. I rarely buy snacks anymore since I’ve noticed that I tend not to snack. If I’m really hungry, I might have a few nuts, to satisfy my hunger. I prefer to simply eat whole meals, when the time is right.

My weekday meals don’t vary too much, but I’ve also reduced the amount I eat, so I don’t create any extra food waste. There’s usually a day during the week, where I’ll go through my fridge and eat up all the foods that may be expiring soon as well. Most of those foods are perishable, so it’ll end up to be some sort of salad, with a bunch of different vegetables. For the fresh produce that does expire, they go into the compost bucket.

Americans waste about a pound of food per person each day, with people who have healthier diets rich in fruit and vegetables the most wasteful, research has found. The healthiest Americans are the most wasteful, because of their high consumption of fruits and vegetables, which are frequently thrown out. Fruit and vegetables require less land to grow than than other foods, such as meat, but require a large amount of water and pesticides. Because of this sad fact, I pay more attention to what I buy and the quantity I buy. This waste has an environmental toll, with the volume of discarded food equivalent to the yearly use of 30m acres of land, 780m pounds of pesticide and 4.2tn gallons of irrigated water. Rotting food also clogs up landfills and releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

Composting is a great way to dump the compostable items, and if you don’t have a yard, there are smaller composts, that are also designed for apartment living as well. Composting is a more sustainable way to discard your foods scraps and it’ll will alleviate the amount of trash, taken to the landfill. If your city, or county hasn’t implemented a city wide composting system, maybe it could be an idea that could be brought to your city.