As we saw in the previous article on food waste, the figures are staggering. One third of the world's food production, or 41,200 kilos of food per second, is wasted.
The figures also show that Canadians top the list of food wasters, and that 14% of food waste comes from consumers.
Far be it from us to give a cooking course. There are plenty of cookery books and websites on the subject.
From the way we shop to the way we store and cook our food, there are a number of simple strategies that can be put in place. We're not talking about magic here, we're talking about 3 key words: Plan, Maximize and Preserve.
Plan
Nothing new under the sun here. Good meal planning is essential to healthy management of the food you eat, or don't eat... We're talking about taking twenty minutes a week to do some good planning. Here are some simple steps to get you there.
- Start by looking at what you have on hand in your fridge, freezer and pantry.
- Plan all your meals for the week (ideally planning according to the season, so you can buy as much local produce as possible!)
- Make a list of foods and quantities needed, and stick to it.
- Cook according to your original plan.
First of all, we're really going to make the decision that it's unacceptable for food that's still edible to end up in the compost bin or, worse still, in the garbage! In making this decision, we're going to pay particular attention to what we can do better. Here are a few tips on what you can do:
- Eat the leftovers
- Keep your fridge and pantry stocked with food that you're likely to miss.
- Reduce the amount of food in your children's lunchboxes if they tend not to eat everything.
- Use peelings and bones to make broths for soups and sauces.
- Prepare foods that are no longer edible. Any mix of vegetables can make a good soup, and any fruit can make a good compote!
There are many options for preserving food. Most people have everything they need to reduce food waste. We all know that we can can, dehydrate fruits and vegetables, refrigerate and freeze.
However, there is some relevant information available for the latter two, which actually represent the bulk of our perishable food preservation.
Here's a picture that gives you all the information you need to keep your food fresh in the fridge.
Are seasonal vegetables no longer as fresh and quickly wilting, or does our refrigerator not give you the options you want for preserving our vegetables? There are doubly eco-friendly and plastic-free alternatives for these. The vegetable can continue its life simply by placing it in a specially designed bag.
As far as freezing is concerned, obviously before freezing any food, we're going to take into account the elements of wholesomeness and edibility. The following strategies should then be followed:
- Make sure the freezer is set to -18°C or colder.
- Avoid temperature variations in the freezer by not putting hot food in it (development of large ice crystals and burns).
- Freeze foods separately on a plate, then store them together once frozen.
- Promote rapid freezing by placing packages close to the freezer's cooling system.
- Air trapped in packages can shorten shelf life and affect food color, flavor and texture. Since we're also talking about ecology here, we'll be avoiding single-use packaging such as vacuum packaging and plastic bags. Reusable packaging in which the air can be removed is just as effective
Here we've put together what we believe to be the basis of good food management, which will help you stop the bulk of food waste in your home. There is a whole series of websites where you can find additional information, tips and tricks to avoid food waste at home.
- Love food, hate waste
- Sauve ta bouffe (french)
- Recy-Québec: Food waste (french)
- 11 Effective Solutions for Food Waste
Ecologically yours,
