Fighting over leftovers
THE Great Fridge Battle takes place at least once a week in our house and goes like this: I rifle all the foodstuffs, checking the best before and use-by dates and throwing away anything that’s within striking distance of either.
My better half comes home and is furious to find I have disposed of the mackerel paté or the cooked chicken he was planning to have for tea. His mantra is ‘if it doesn’t smell or look green then it’s edible.’ Mine is I’d prefer not to be poisoned.
Things get worse when the kids return. Then, foodstuff is put back, half eaten and barely covered, into the fridge, only for nobody to be able to tell me when it was opened. In my eyes, it is therefore a bio hazard and must be properly disposed of.
I have no idea why I am so ruthless around saggy carrots or on-date yoghurts but I am and always have been.
And while I recognise there is a middle ground to be occupied by both of us, I also know I need to travel further to get there than my husband.
A report out this week may just be the fuel I need.
Stop Food Waste Day is a global initiative, started in 2017, and which aims to cut the amount of food that ends up in our bins. This year’s event came as it was revealed that here in Britain we waste a whopping 4.5 million tonnes of food each year. According to those behind the day, 33% of all food produced globally is lost or wasted every year. It contributes to greenhouse gas emission and, of course, is a waste of money for households.
Now, you might think that chucking slightly stale bread in the bin is hardly the crime of the century, but cutting back food waste is crucial to help us tackle climate change, public health issues and hunger.
Food waste is often used as a ‘sticking plaster’ solution to poverty. A great deal of surplus food –and there is currently no legal requirement for UK businesses to report their food waste figures – gets directed from supermarkets to food banks and those struggling to make ends meet.
But that surely can’t be a long term solution? Surely a stronger welfare system and better wages would be more sustainable?
Isn’t that better for the planet and for people?
Of course, there is also an issue about teaching people what to do with food. The culture of how to use up leftovers, which came automatically to our parents and grandparents, has been lost in many places.
So hand in hand with better education around waste should come cookery lessons, recipes and ideas on what to do with the Sunday roast remnants or tired veggies at the bottom of the ‘fridge.
It’s a complex issue and it won’t be solved overnight but I guess we can all play a small part.
For me that means recognising that day-old salad won’t kill me.
...33% of all food produced globally is lost or wasted every year
Figure from Stop Food Waste Day