Thursday, 10 January 2013
Waste not, want not
Hello Dear Reader,
I'm seething! I do, and I know you do, what ever you can to eradicate waste. We womble away and buy recycled, reconditioned, the donated and car booted! We boil up giblets and make stock. We pick our chicken carcasses clean and make pie fillings. We boil the bones for soup. We rummage in jumble sales for shirts to cut up for quilting. Surely, it isn't us wasting so much food!
Read all about it from the BBC
Food is rejected by the supermarkets before it leaves the field! Those of us who grow veggies eat what ever comes out of our gardens. We're not fussed by blemishes, knobbly bits or three legged carrots! I often explain to people that my cheap carrots from Lidl have usually grown in the same field as the carrots from Waitrose! The only difference being that Waitrose carrots are perfect, all the same length, girth and look the same. Lidl? They will be smaller and some a bit ugly. They are still carrots!
Please leave your comments and vent your spleen and have a good moan at the waste of food! Let's embrace lumpy bumpy peppers and the bendy leek! Let's not care if every potato in the sack is a different size. Share your favourite ideas for left overs. We love left over veggies, with some cheese sauce, toss in some cooked pasta and stir. Top with bread crumbs and the grated crusty dry edges of the cheddar. It makes a perfect meal for hungry tummies.
Now it's your turn!
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxxxx
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The waste is amazing but I suppose it is "us" consumers who have driven the want for perfect veg. Hopefully, things will change.
ReplyDeleteLeft over mashed potato can be used as potato cakes. Mix with an egg, make into patty shapes, roll in cornmeal or flour and shallow fry. These are very popular here.
Same here and if I have any scrap bacon or fish I pop that in too. hate waste with a passion. If I buy something I always try to do so with a vie of what else can I use it for and if I can get 2 or 3 extra uses to me its not a bum deal. One of my favorite things to do is if fruit is wrapped in a plastic bag I carefully cut it open at the to and use it as bathroom pedal bin liners.
DeleteI like to add a bit of veggies if I have left overs, too. Onion, broccoli,carrot, whatever chopped up tiny adds a bit of pizzazz.
Deletethe problem is NO ONE wants to think their food comes from the ground or is a product of the earth!! And oh man don't SPEAK about butchering animals or you'll make someone BARF sheesh food does not GROW in small itty bitty plastic wrapped containers IT WAS ALIVE--I live in Alaska and our stores ship most/ALL their food up here--if it doesn't sell they throw it out and won't even send it out for pig food or chicken food--we keep a big flock of hens--if we break and egg we use it--if one freezes in the coop we put it in the dog dish--waste not want not-
ReplyDeleteReally? After all the hard work and cost of the transportation alone? Wow..tell that to the ice road truckers...I'm sure their reply would read something like***!-**heck! Or similar.
DeleteCompletely agree with you. This is ashocking story. We live in aworld where some people don't have enough to eat and yet others won't eat carrots that could have been contenders for a slot on 'That's life'
ReplyDeleteBe ashamed of yourselves you so called super-markets...let the customers decide whether they want bland uniform veg or normal offerings. This past year I've teetered between laughing and crying at the offerings hubby has brought in from the garden...well some things have been soooo tiny, but scrubbed up, and boiled in the pot, they still fed us. When so many in our world are starving what gives us as a nation the right to be so wasteful.
ReplyDeleteMy uncles on a regular basis would go to the allotment on a Sunday bring veg to my mothers and my aunts house. Shock horror gasp we even had curly cucumbers! so far we haven't died. lol if the food that is produced is edible who gives a monkies for its shape!
DeleteThanks Rachel...some were very comical though...people might smile a bit more as they did their shopping if they could choose the sort of veg I get to cook or maybe cope with!
DeleteWe take all of the end bits from onion, celery or other veg and put it into a freezer container. I keep adding to it until it is full and then make stock. I also make container soup which is tiny bits of leftovers that have been frozen and when enough accumulates I combine them to make a mystery soup or stew. Most of the time these meals are great.
ReplyDeleteMy mate does the same and I have got into the habit of doing so as well. only used to do it for quiches and the like.
DeleteHi Froogs, I agree that it's terribly sad and completely obscene that food is left to waste in this way when there are people in this country, let alone the rest of the world, that can't afford to feed themselves and their families. Why can't it be distributed to those in society that have most need or to charitable organisations to distribute it. Surely it isn't a health hazard to eat a wonky carrot!
ReplyDeleteWe get a good laugh at some of the carrots that come out of our garden but in the fridge/freezer they go - they taste fine so who cares what they look like?
ReplyDeleteJudy xx
Evening Froogs!
ReplyDeleteI love the 'Love food hate waste' website, it's really good. Any brown bananas get slung my way for banana bread!
We have seen a drastic decline in food waste in our household since the Council introduced food scrap bins; tea bags, peelings etc go in it but I've found I rarely have any 'scrapings' to put in the bin and if there are leftovers we eat them in the week.
Waste, especially of food makes me cross as I think of people that go to bed starving not only abroad but in this Country.
Loving the thought provoking posts.
BB xx
In total agreement Froogs. It's a disgrace. Couldn't believe the article I read today about the imperfect veg. I am surprised there are any veg eaters left judging by the amount of people I see queuing at the golden M drive in on a Sunday afternoon for their lunches. Me, I just defrost your fagotts and have with mash! The best.
ReplyDeleteSarah. X
I bought a sack of horse carrots for a couple of quid. they were huge misshapen things, best tasting carrots ever and lasted us weeks as they were still dirty and kept for ages.
ReplyDeleteohh where would I go to buy these carrots please. I feel a frugal blanching of veg moment approaching. :)
DeleteShameful the amount of food thrown out by the superstores daily, a lot of it perfectly edible.
ReplyDeleteAs my mother used to say "Wilful waste means wishful want"
our local co op (staff are fab) well there was a carrier bag of "just" going spotty bananas and I asked if they were being marked down. Th manages sadly looked at me and said no the bar code thingy had said they were out of date and had to be destroyed . I was aghast and he said he was sickened by the amount of things he has to chuck that are perfectly usable.
DeleteI know its bloody ridiculous isn't it? every single vegetable bar the rotton ones should be used who gives a damn what shape they are, I especially like the carrots with odd shapes, legs etc on them! gives me a good giggle anyway.
ReplyDeleteI hate food waste of any kind as well and applaud people who are trying to go against the big supermarkets. Don't know if you watched this when it was on http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-peoples-supermarket it is a real eye opener about some of the things big supermarkets get up to.
ReplyDeleteI am seething too. Don't get me started on the food, I am shocked by what people throw away. Also today I mentioned at work that I need another chest of drawers, ours has woodworm was second hand when it came to us 15 years ago and has been treated in the past. I want to buy second hand again to reuse, it was suggested I went to Buyology...what's wrong with second hand. I'm only sad we have to get rid of the old ones..to be burnt.
ReplyDeleteHi froogs..like you i was shocked today at the reports of food being rejected because its not the right shape..here at our house we love getting weird shaped veggies..who cares its not perfect,it still tastes good.
ReplyDeleteMy fave leftover quick thing when we have them..sprouts that are well past it,limp leak and some sorry looking mushrooms..all finely sliced and then stir fried...served up with some sliced ham...we love it.
If only others weren't so bothered by appearances..
sara
I know!! I was SO upset when just after Christmas I realised I had let an aubergine go 'off'. It had been part of a carrier bag of freebies I was given by a neighbour, and I was so cross with myself. It was not even salvageable either - mouldy and liquid: yuk!
ReplyDeleteAll my kitchen waste is composted, once anything that can feed the rabbit has gone that way first!
We will eat soggy, sad-looking or wrinkled fruit or veg, we are not fussy.
It's incredible how much food is thrown away, especially when there are so many starving people in the world. A few simple steps to change the way you live can rectify this...meal planning, using leftovers, checking that nothing is lurking at the back of your fridge and not buying too much in the first place etc etc. Most people are trying to cut back on bills etc these days, so it's incredible that people are still throwing away food.
ReplyDeleteI once said very loudly at a farmers market - Look real apples. The stall owner smiled because she knew what I meant, every apple was a different size and every apple had a blemish! This was a farmers market long before they were well established as they are now. I love jacket potatoes, and when I was a child you could get potatoes twice/three times the size they are now. Mum used to cook them in the oven, no microwaves then, they took ages to cook. They were a whole meal in themselves, now the potatoes are a couple of mouthfuls and they are gone, no matter how much cheese you put on them! Perhaps you are now meant to eat them with a salad, or part of the meal, but I prefer just the potato as I had them as a child! I prefer my fruit and veg different sizes and with blemishes, and who invented sell-by dates for fruit and veg, you can see and smell when they are manky! A packet of sugar does not have a sell-by date so why put it on Honey? Both are preservatives but Honey has been around a lot longer than sugar!
ReplyDeleteJulie xxxxxxxxx
Julie here in Plymouth there used to be a small cafe called the baked potato and that's all they served with various topping. the spuds were huge and sometimes we would order one and share because it was simply too big. sadly its gone now .
DeleteI had to comment on this as I felt the same way as you when I heard this story this morning. I don't mind how fruit and veg look - in fact I prefer to see the various nobbles and bobbles as it makes you realise it is grown and it can be funny. I love it when a carrot looks human :D But this waste is saddening.
ReplyDeleteI don't get many leftover veggies as they go in everything we have. On the odd occasion I get, say, a bowl of leftover roast veggies I make some pastry, add a bit of spice or curry powder and make some spicy pasties to fill an oven tray when the oven is on.
KB xx
We do the same pasta type meal here too, and also a 'leftovers flan' where I roll out a piece of frozen puff pastry and pile it with leftovers/things hiding in the fridge. We have it with homemade potato wedges, our kids love it! in fact we had it for tea tonight.
ReplyDeleteThat BBC article is absolutely shocking. I really don't know what to say.
Food waste is something that really blows my mind. We all know a supermarket does not sell every single item and when you find out how much gets tossed it is sickening. I actually read a book a few months back about the problem of food waste in America.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/American-Wasteland-America-Throws-Nearly/dp/0738215287
The book does cover how only the "perfect" looking fruits and vegetables get displayed. Some markets have agreements with food banks, BUT they can only take and use so much here because the overproduction is beyond comprehension. I have often wanted to ask the manager of one of the Supermarkets we go to what they do with all the leftover fish and meats? I know some places will sell their baked goods at half price at end of day, but still so much is wasted and it is disgraceful.
We take left over rice and throw in some peas, onions and eggs for a fried rice breakfast which is lovely.
Quite right, too! I was also shocked by the wanton food waste that goes on - that can't be right, when there's people going hungry. I call it shameful. I'm always happy with a few bags of value veg - who's going to notice the difference, anyway, once it's prepared and cooked? I think I can manage to live without identikit vegetables...
ReplyDeleteJane
I too was horrified by this report. I also was saddened that poor infrastructure in developing countries means that up to 50% of their food is wasted before it gets to market. In our house nowt gets chucked out. We are careful not to overbuy and leftovers get turned into summat else.
ReplyDeleteI too was horrified by this report. I also was saddened that poor infrastructure in developing countries means that up to 50% of their food is wasted before it gets to market. In our house nowt gets chucked out. We are careful not to overbuy and leftovers get turned into summat else.
ReplyDeleteI too was horrified by this report. I also was saddened that poor infrastructure in developing countries means that up to 50% of their food is wasted before it gets to market. In our house nowt gets chucked out. We are careful not to overbuy and leftovers get turned into summat else.
ReplyDeleteI try really hard not to waste anything- it feels like a personal failure if I have to chuck something. I dont understand how so much bread get wasted... Have people never heard of bread and butter pudding!
ReplyDeleteI lived in Tunisia for a while. The fruit and veg didn't look very appealing, but although everything needed a good wash and peeling it was fantastic. The fruit was like nothing I had tasted before or since. The supermarkets are trying to brainwash us into believing everything must be uniform and shiny. We should all be shopping at local markets for fruit and veg and eat home produced fruit and veg that has not travelled miles stifled in polystyrene and plastic.
ReplyDeleteOh, Froogs I hate this too. It was just on the news that a third of all food produced in the world is wasted!!! Bloody hell.
ReplyDeleteDo you know, we now have the fashion for seedless watermelon in Australia. That means all the ones with seeds (think make and female seed pods) are left in the field to rot. Not even picked! Same with rockmelon that is not the "perfect" size and shape.
What utter stupidity!
Really, seedless? dear god! when I was little and my aunt had a Mellon she would rinse of the seeds and either eat them or we would do some sort of craft out of the ones still in there husk.
Deletewasn't is something about the EU saying all our veg had to be graded? I cant remember its long time ago.
ReplyDeleteare people panic buying bread flour? I went to 3 shops in town and nothing? only wholemeal. And I only like white (I sound like that advert)
Just today I included some Mexican rice that I froze, didn't use, and then refroze in a casserole of bean and cheese enchiladas. No one noticed. :)
ReplyDeleteHi. I found your blog a few weeks ago and I've read it from start to finish. It's great. I saw the news tonight before I read your post, and my first thought was "frugal queen" will be going mad when she hears this!! I hate food waste......especially the amount of good food thrown away by supermarkets who adhere to sell by date and don't think we have enough common sense to work out for ourselves whether good is fit tho eat or not! I have never taken notice of sell by dates......they aren't stamped on the fruit and veg we grow ourselves and we survive! xx
ReplyDeleteHi. I found your blog a few weeks ago and I've read it from start to finish. It's great. I saw the news tonight before I read your post, and my first thought was "frugal queen" will be going mad when she hears this!! I hate food waste......especially the amount of good food thrown away by supermarkets who adhere to sell by date and don't think we have enough common sense to work out for ourselves whether good is fit tho eat or not! I have never taken notice of sell by dates......they aren't stamped on the fruit and veg we grow ourselves and we survive! xx
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteHere in Australia people have started 'dumpster shopping' - cost of food is so expensive now that people go around after dark raiding the big dumpster bins at the back of the two major supermarket chains - Coles & Woolworths. Those who 'shop' this way dig out trays of fruit & veg, the packaging not even damaged, the use by date still within reach, the food is still in excellent condition and is quite edible...
Maybe not everyone's ideal way to feed themselves but when push comes to shove for those struggling to make ends meet this is their solution for survival.
What angers me is; our pathetic laws here forbid the supermarkets, restaurants & cafes to donate daily left over food to the numerous charity kitchens who try to feed the homeless and needy - the number of which is growing more on a daily basis.
My other gripe is; TV shows like Gordon Ramsey's Hell's Kitchen, when a contestant's dish doesn't meet his standards the plate of food is often literally thrown at the poor person or across the kitchen, such abuse of good food and of a human being rates low in my book.
Good topic for todays post Froogs. X
Stores in the UK now put their locked dumpsters in locked coumpounds.
DeleteFriend of mine used to collect "waste" bread from behind a store for his animals, until somebody from the store noticed and called police. No action was taken "once you've binned it you've relinquished ownership" but the next day a new bin with cover and lock appeared.
Best laugh is, the stores pay to have it taken away!
There's some petty-minded people.
That happens here in Greece, too. The supermarkets redeem themselves slightly here by taking part in a scheme to encourage people to buy a little extra and leave it in a designated spot. This food is collected by a local group and distributed to those in real need. Although I have very little cash to spare I try to contribute something each time I shop - even if only a packet of rice or pasta. There is real hardship in this country at the moment, and everyone I know tries to do something to help. There is far less waste here than in the west, as people know how to manage on very little - they have to!
DeleteI get the nobbly carrots in a big bag from Tesco (value bag). I'd like to say I couldn't believe the news this morning, but unfortunately I've heard this sort of thing before from lecturers. The amount of food wasted once INSIDE the home is just as inexcusable however. At least when the customer has the item it is their responsibility to USE THE DAMN FOOD!
ReplyDeleteDid my shopping today, needed carrots. Had a choice between 1kg Lancashire carrots at £1 or 1.5kg value carrots for 89p. Could not see any difference and carrots are, well, carrots. So I got the 89p carrots.
ReplyDeleteLeeks from the garden are still happening, even though everyone thinks they are spring onions. They haven't got fat this year. I just tell them that they are baby leeks and taste better (which they do!). I suppose it's all about using what you have and saving what you can.
I remember an aunt of mine would use the green shoot from an onion left in the veg basket to long as "chives" to go into salad or something else.
DeleteI buy my veg from our nearby organic farmer John, and who cares what they look like! They taste divine and are as cheap as the non organic, chemically sprayed to death, stuff in even the cheapest supermarkets.
ReplyDeleteI know you do not like me saying on your blog about organic/free range food - but seriously, local organic farmers/CSA's are the cheapest way to get the very best food. and if it is meat- raised ethically.
Pleae publish this post, even if you delete any other post I make on the subject of ethical meat. veg producers. ( like I think you did last week, although maybe that was Blogger, again, being a pain)
My biggest vent? The compaines that whop down a carrot so we can buy those perfect little baby carrots. What happen to just buying a carrot and giving it a chop or two? eek! All I can think about is the waste.
ReplyDeleteThe beauty of a fruit or veggie doesn't change the taste one bit.
What your *UK* and my *USA* waste in food we could end world hunger.
Apple season in the North Georgia mountains is a beautiful sight every autumn. Later on it is a pitiful sight to see the waste on the ground rotting away. They'd rather it rot than give it to community kitchens to help feed those in need.
Let me tell you a story that shocked me to my core.
Last summer my sister and I was at Kroger *a supermarket here in the states* and this guy came over to the bread/donut case and started emptying the contents into a large garbage can.
I ask, Why are you doing that? He said, Well. At the end of the day *was about 9pm* what is not sold we toss in the garbage. !!! I said, You do what?! Do you know how many people could use that bread?!
He said, Yes, but if we gave it away and someone got sick then we would be responsible.
No one was going to get sick but they couldn't take the chance.
We walked away shocked at thinking that everyday 365-days a year all the stores throw all that food away. I can hardly think about it today without getting mad. They would have had to fire me because i'd have been giving that food to the local food kitchen.
Sad state we find ourselves in these days.
btw...Love your blog!
Jake's a Girl
I have IBS and I only eat day old (or older) bread because if it fresh it upsets my tummy. So, the logic behind this 'we'll get sued' rubbish is a fat lie. I hate that kind of waste.
DeleteBack in the day when we were really broke, our local baker used to offer bags of the end of the day baked goods for $1-00, that's full sized garbage bags. The only people who were allowed to take it were those who were feeding it to livestock. Some of it did get to our cows, but a hell of a lot of it was eaten by my kids! Sticky buns freeze and thaw really well.
And the baby carrots are washed in chlorine which is that white coating you see on most of them. Lovely right??
DeleteWe LOVE orchard apples, blemishes and all. We get them from a place in PA since we have friends that live there and we are in NJ.
Your Krogers's story made my head spin!!
And those small carrots are washed in chlorine which is that white stuff you see on them. Gross!
DeleteWe LOVE orchard apples as well and drive from NJ to PA every year to buy them, blemishes and all. A bushel is so incredibly cheap and the apples last so long!
Your Kroger story made my head spin! I had read that there are laws protecting the Supermarkets and there are foundations like this trying to help http://www.wastedfood.com/food-rescue/
Down at the allotment we love our veggies with their lacy leaves.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you here. A wonky carrot is still a carrot, although a slimy one is to be tossed.
ReplyDeleteOne nice thing that restaurants are doing these days, is donate their leftovers to shelters and such. At lease someone benefits for all that excess food. I'm near New York City, and some of the priciest restaurants do this.
Your post made me giggle.I made your ghoulash recipe yesterday with reduced lamb, wrinkly peppers and mushrooms and bendy carrots. It was absolutely delicious. Our friday night meal is usually any left over bits of veg etc mixed with a few eggs. We call it fridge raider. It is our waste not, want not meal. If we have a roast chicken It does us two dinners plus another meal of really filling soup. nothing on that chook gets wasted. One of my colleagues told me today that she spends £75 a week on food for two of them. I am quite happy with my trips to asda where I head straight to the reduced shelf. Any fruit we have that is on the turn gets stewed or bananas go into cakes. I never throw anything out anymore. I really enjoyed the clip froogs thankyou for posting it. Jan
ReplyDeleteI loathe the way the big supermarkets treat the farmers in Australia. I guess nasty practices are world wide.
ReplyDeleteAs for left overs I hate them but we do try to use things up. I call these meals SOAP (something on a plate) and YMCA (yesterday's meal cooked again).
Well I think everything has been said. I was once visiting a friend and on the side in her kitchen was the remains of a roast chicken with just the breast meat gone. When I enquired what she had planned for the rest I was horrified to learn that it was due for the bin as her family only ate breast meat. I begged for a carrier bag and took the carcass home for soup, can you believe the waste!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe like yourselves never ever deliberately waste food. I use a lot of celery and prefer it cooked to raw. Anyhow if I have a glut of it i usually top and tail it and make soup with those bits and then wrap the stalk in in tinfoil last for ages that way and stays very fresh.The news of the amount of food that is chucked made me want to weep. So much waste and for no real reason.I see a generation of new adults growing up not understanding the cost of food, how to prepare it and where it originated from. There is also my neighbour who regardless of its state chucks it on or by the sell buy date!I am thankful that I was born into an era where we were tought about food and its value. WONDERFUL post froogs.
ReplyDeleteIt's the same in France. Any leftovers that we don't want to eat,goes to our pigs.
ReplyDeleteIn the supermarkets I have often seen employees taking trays of veg off sale and when I ask what they are doing with it and can I ahev it for my pigs, I get the same reply, sorry we are not allowed to give it away, it has to go in the rubbish.
In the local market at Loches, tehre is one fruit and veg stall that allows people to take things that they think are not sellable. They put them behind the stall, out of the way and anyone who is in the know can hel themselves. I have seen trays of lettuce, tomatoes etc all sitting ther.
The supermarkets here rarely do the big reductions at the end of the day.
Lidl quite often reduce their meat by 30% when the shop opens, so I will go in and clear out the chicken fillets or mince to put in the freezer.
Let's hope your blog might be able to add to the general outcry about theis waste
Sue
I hate waste, my family are the same, mum will freeze what she doesnt eat and use it another time. I will reuse an item untill you cannot anymore! My husband is getting there. We grow our own veg, if I had my way I would have a goat 2!!!
ReplyDeleteI hate the big four supermarket as they are killing the high street and our all choices with it. I love cooking with a wonky carrot! Allie
Like your very first poster, I do think that maybe we (probably not the "we" who read this blog, but "we" the general western population) are partly to blame...if the demand for perfect fruit &veggies, all neatly wrapped in cellophane on polystyrene trays wasn't there, then the supermarkets wouldn't be so keen on supplying them. But the wasting of food from shops at the end of the day is heartbreaking. People need that food!
ReplyDeleteA brilliant post. I agree with all the comments (and boy have you got a lot about this, shows how we all feel about food wasteage!).
ReplyDeleteI would never dream of not buying food because of knobbly bits and am more than used to trying to scrub three legged carrots from the garden, the teeny tiny food that doesn't grow properly are our only 'baby' vegetables. Once you grow your own and realise the wonderous shapes and colours of food as it 'really' is it makes you despair at the mountains of 'perfect' fruits and veggies in the supermarkets stacked in their perfect pyramids of colour.
After reading a book about farmers in this country tied into contracts with the 'big' supermarkets and finding out that they have to plough back into the fields hundreds and thousands of perfectly good veggies because of last minute cancelled orders (they are not allowed to sell on elsewhere due to the contract) I was absolutely horrified. and even more determined to buy straight from farm shops and markets whenever I could. If I have to go to the supermarket I purposely pick the single banana, the most off the wall shapes I can find, the ones with the tiny blemish etc because I know they will be the ones rejected by the 'masses'.
True we all have to follow a tight budget these days but the first thing we can do is to buy a bit less and make use of every single bit of what we buy.
Sue xx
Just read this post and all the comments. I totally agree with the sentiments expressed. Any kind of waste, especially food is just wrong on every level. I am surrounded by it every day at work and have been known to retrieve perfectly good food from the kitchen bin at the end of the day - once it was 4 bananas with barely a mark on the skin. Why?? I have no idea but that was became snacks for the next day as well as fruit salad for dinner with friends and a banana cake!!
ReplyDeleteTo quote a former Australian prime minister, 'We need to maintain our rage' about this dreadful habit.
All that waste is insane! We can build structures that blow your mind. We can build space stations, we can organise world wide sports events. But we can't organise a good distribution of food around our globe?
ReplyDeleteWe can't make 'consumers' buy wonky veggies?
Insanity.. that's what it is.
This waste is a disgrace, the food generally tastes the same regardless of how imperfect it may look. Our home grown stuff may not win prizes but it tastes great.And leftovers are a real moneysaver, though I guess Iam oreaching to the converted here.
ReplyDeleteJust obscene to waste so much food! No waste in this house, strict budget, meal planning, veggie stock from peelings or chook food. Veggie cobbler is one of our favourite 'leftover' meals.
ReplyDeleteWe try very hard to wsste as little as possible. We have cats, hens, rabbits, a wormery and a compost heap so it is mainly plastic wrapping that goes in our bin, not food. I often come home from work and find a carrier bag of "hen food" on my doorstep. Sometimes there is a bag of bendy carrots in it and that becomes people food and the rest gets distributed appropriately. I abhor waste like everybody else who reads this blog.
ReplyDeleteI used up the last of the leftovers to make last nights tea and the fridge is empty save some milk butter and eggs ready for today's shop. Supermarkets should quit worrying and act responsibly and give out the food for free at the end of the day.
ReplyDeleteas always you are bang on with your reporting!
san x
have a look at my friend suzy bowlers food blog "sudden lunch" she creates almost instant lunches from anything that happens to be left over in her fridge or food cupboards..there are some very imaginative ideas on there..
ReplyDeleteanother way of saving waste veg and to make it last longer is to first wrap it in kitchen paper before putting it in bag or foil.it works especially well with vegetables that have been cut , like peppers ect..it helps to eradicate some of the moisture and will keep your veg fresh for much longer
And it's not only the supermarkets, we as individuals do that too when we cook more than we eat and then throw the leftovers away. I was brought up to use any food leftover but to many people this seems to be beyond their comprehension. I must admit there are leftovers I don't like, fish being one of them so when I cook it I make sure I only cook what we'll eat. Any leftover food goes in a container and is kept in the fridge to be included in another meal.
ReplyDeleteI too was disgusted at the site of good food being bulldozed. I try to use up all my food...some would say I'm a bit stingy but if I've paid for it, I jolly well want to eat it. Growing food takes up a lot of water and energy, both of which are finite resources, we should all do our bit to only buy and use what we need.
ReplyDeleteI was interested in this article though from "Full Facts" http://fullfact.org/factchecks/almost_half_world_UK_food_wasted-28702
They're a great organisation that filters out the rubbish, politican's spiel and misinformation in the news. It seems the calculation is on food that's grown and gets to the fork and, according to them, the rest is waste. But some food goes to feeding animals and some bits of food are inedible...like blighted potatoes. So, whilst waste food is deplorable, I'm not sure about the headlines.
Mrs S
I'm afraid this makes me want to cry. When so many people are in need of food or actually starving throwing food away is completely obscene. There is no food wasted in this house - ever. We eat it/dogs eat it/composted. End of story. My dinner tonight will be the remains of a "bitsa" pie which is what it says, combined with some left over pasta and a few extra stir fried veggies to bulk it out. I will be shopping for food tomorrow, but only need fresh veg as the freezer is full of things I have already made and the remains of our Christmas turkey.
ReplyDeleteI hate hate hate waste. I found your blog by accident and love reading all you do. I am at the other end of frugal life, we have saved and been careful all our lives and we are now reaping the rewards. We sold our house in the UK 10 years ago and bought a house in France. This year we fulfilled another dream and bought a motor home and are starting to enjoying our retirement. We were able to do this early because we have always been careful. I will be 60 this year (OMG did I just say that out loud!!) We haven't had a holiday for a while but now we intend to enjoy ourselves. Even though things are easier for us now I never waste anything, even if there is only enough leftovers for one, it gets labelled and put in the freezer, so what if we each have different meals one night. If there isn't enough to make a meal then the dog gets it. The waste has been going on for years, anyone remember the "butter mountains" it's awful. Where has this come from that the supermarkets think we only want perfect veggies, why not sell the ugly veg at a cheaper price rather than throw them on the tip, I would buy the ugly every time. Linda
ReplyDeleteAt lunchtime yesterday at work someone turned the TV over to channel 4, so I got to watch a bit of Superscrimpers - they were featuring a family with 3 primary school aged children who were spending over £10K a year on food, serving different ready meals to all the kids every mealtime and chucking out at least £20 worth of spoiled food each week that they had over-bought. Whilst theirs may have been an extreme example of spending, I think the notion that 'waste is normal' is all too common.
ReplyDeleteBut at the same time, I don't think the supermarkets are helping either - even where they easily could without changing their policy. Before the credit crunch, you could go into ASDA, for example, at the end of the day and all the food about to be taken off display was reduced right down. Now they don't reduce things so much, because they could sell 5 items reduced from £1 to 20p and take the profit from their in-date goods, or one item reduced from £1 to 80p, and the majority of people would weigh up the pros and cons of buying it and decide not to bother and get a full-price,in-date product instead.
growing up in the 'poor part of the world', meant that food was always used 100% including the school canteen leftovers - one of the dinner lady's pig. I never even look at sell by date. However my 6 years younger sister who was a teenager when we moved to the rich world has a very different outlook, completely brainwashed by the culture. She would regularly throw away perfectly good food just because of some arbitrary date or perceived blemish.
ReplyDeleteFood waste in this country is phenomenal whether individual or the supermarkets restaurants. I am glad you raised this and also that you show that it is possible to eat home cooked and economical meals (unlike what seems to be the popular alternative - Jamie Oliver 15/30 min meals for which you need, specialist shop, remortgage the house and hire a cleaner afterwards :-D)even you are in full time work, busy person.
My biggest beef about supermarket fruit and veg is the limited life it ends up having. I put everything in the fridge these days because I'd get the spuds home and they'd have eyes on 'em in a couple of days. Nothing keeps any more. If you want to buy in bulk to save trips, there is no point. Unless you can freeze it, it will turn revolting before you want to buy more. Or, I suppose I could be organised and cook up the lot when I get it, but I don't.
ReplyDeleteSo, my whinge is shelf life! If I had enough room I'd grow my own. Which I am hoping will happen soon when some stuff gets shifted and I might have a spot for some delicious home grown!
Here in the US it is not permitted by supermarkets to give food they throw in the bins at night even to animal shelters. Most of it is still good but because it has the "sell by" date expired, the insurance companies won't allow the shops to give the food away. If one of the dogs/cats got sick, they would blame the supermarkets so they say. One time the principal of the school my daughters went to told me she went down to McD's and asked if she could have the meat patties they threw away for the dog shelter and they said absolutely not! We could get sued! It's such a waste of food and I hate the thought that people are going hungry and yet all that food is wasted because they can't give it away. I don't have the answer to that but I can definitely say the insurance companies have a lot to answer for. As far as food wasted in our homes, yes, that goes on too and that's a shame. I try not to buy too much at one time because I know we can't eat it all before it goes bad, especially fresh veg and fruits. I guess you have to learn to shop for the size of family you have and try not to be wasteful. Food is too expensive to waste also.
ReplyDeleteI feel really guilty because I know that despite my good intentions I do end up with wasted fruit. I really should stop buying it, no-one eats it and anyway I think vegetables are probably better for you. But I panic at the thought they might not get their 5 a day and it's not always easy to get 5 servings of veg into the menu with husband and the two girls taking packed lunches. I'm a lot better than I used to be because I buy individual pieces of fruit so I can tailor quantities. But if they are to eat it at all it has to be out in the fruit bowl, it becomes invisible in the fridge and that does reduce the keeping time. Trying to stick to fruit I can use in cakes and puddings if they don't eat it fresh is helping as well
ReplyDeleteJust saw this on NPR and thought it would be great to share considering we are talking about people wasting food.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/01/04/168482950/dumpster-diver-tv-austrians-cook-up-food-waste-reality-show
Cheers!
I volunteer at a "cafe" for homeless and vulnerable adults, which my church runs twice a week. We have an arrangement with a local pasty shop, so one of us goes there on a friday and saturday evening to pick up the left over pasties from that day. we regularly bring home a box of 25-30 fresh, cooked pasties on each day. We freeze them, then bring them out, defrost and produce hot at the cafe. They go down a bomb! I know they do the same, one day a week, for Shekinah mission -another homeless charity. My point... How much of this food is being chucked every day by cafes - and, Oh if only we had the people and storage space to approach them and put their left to good use.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that *peeves* me to no end - the amount of acreage and waste devoted to ornamental pumpkins & squash, etc. for Halloween in the United States.
ReplyDeleteI heard all of this on Radio Cornwall and I cant believe that down here in Cornwall, the second poorest county, that we are supposed to waste £10 of food every week, not in our house. I have tried to buy the cheaper veg for the dogs but the supermarkets just throw them away which is criminal, they all taste the same. We have an allotment but no one is able to grow carrots which are one of the main things I need.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you froogs, it is shameful the amount of waste produced.
ReplyDeleteIn Europe its all do to with EU regulations regarding what food can be sold supermarkets. For instance a cucumber has to be certain size and weight in order to be sold. If it does not meet regulations then it is passed on markets traders and wholesale restaurant retailers.
This is why there is so much fuss about the price of Europe, whilst of they just abolished these rules, food prices would rapidly drop and so would waste.
I try to buy from local stores as they have better deals depending on the time of year. For example 3 large cucumbers for a £1, whilst in the supermarket 90p.
Its ridiculous and they wonder people are struggling.
Very good tips and informatio
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