National Post (National Edition)
Love food? Then don’t waste it
A new campaign hopes to compel Canadians to cut their food waste
If you’re anything like the average Canadian, you’re likely disposing of one in four bags of groceries each year before it even hits the table. That’s more than $1,100 worth of food. And household waste doesn’t just negatively impact your bank account; it takes a toll on the environment as well.
When it comes to tackling food waste, Canadians hold the dubious honour of having a lot to work with. According to a new national campaign that hopes to inspire changes in food practices, Canada is among the most wasteful of developed nations. Nearly half of all food waste takes place in the home where 63 per cent of the food we throw away is in fact edible.
That’s 2.2 million tonnes of food that’s perfectly fit for the plate with a value of more than $17 billion.
“The statistics are both sobering and compelling,” Malcolm Brodie, chair of the National Zero Waste Council, reportedly said at a news conference.
“When you consider that one third of all the food that is produced globally is wasted, and that’s according to the world resources institute, it’s easy to see that food waste is an urgent global issue that demands immediate attention.”
According to the Love Food Hate Waste campaign website, avoidable food waste occurs primarily because of over-purchasing, cooking too much or storing incorrectly.
In Canada, National Zero Waste Council research found that vegetables are the most wasted food by weight at 30 per cent. Followed by fruit at 15 per cent, leftovers at 13 per cent, bread and bakery at nine per cent and dairy and eggs at seven per cent.
The Love Food Hate Waste campaign, which was modelled after a movement in the U.K. that resulted in a 21 per cent reduction of avoidable food waste has rolled out in Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria and Montreal. It includes meal-planning advice, a shelf-life primer and tips for keeping produce fresh. See lovefoodhatewaste.ca for more information.