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Waste
Bridget Walsh on 13 September, 2011 | 
"By buying more food than we are going to eat, the industrialised world devours land and resources that could otherwise be used to feed the world's poor. There are nearly a billion undernourished people in the world - but all of them could be fed with just a fraction of the food that rich countries currently throw away" - Tristram Stuart, author of ‘Waste: The Global Food Scandal’ (2009)
In the USA about 50% of ALL food is wasted. Here in the UK it's about 20 million tonnes each year, and almost $102 billion (US) worth in Japan. That is a HECK of a lot of perfectly good food going into a landfill or being left to rot (and it’s only the tip of the iceberg), which simply doesn’t compute when there are millions of undernourished and starved people in the world and a planet being pushed to breaking point to meet our supposed demand for food.
Whether it’s allowing something to go mouldy in your cupboard, or a supermarket rejecting an entire crop of fruit or vegetables, wasting food on any level breaches all sorts of fundamental yogic guidelines. Asteya (not coveting or hoarding), Aparigraha (non-possessiveness) Santosha (being satisfied with what you have) and my old favourite Ahimsa (non-violence) are all applicable Yamas & Niyamas that should be considered. Of course, in the interest of not only presenting you with the problems, here are some ideas for contributing to the solution:
• Only buy what you need, and understand the larger implications of your choices.
• Re-programme your brain to not be offended by fruit and vegetables that may not be perfect, round and shiny (you’ll find that although most organic produce may not look like a cardboard cut-out, it will likely taste a damn sight better than prettier supermarket alternatives!)
• Support stores and merchants who make an effort to sustainably provide people with produce, and abstain from those (supermarkets) who subscribe to the notion of abundance to sucker in customers. If their shelves are still full of perishable goods by closing time, you can almost guarantee a whole lot of them are bound straight for the skip. But you chose to shop there because the store looked so plentiful... right?
• Be mindful of the lifespan of your food and enjoy it before it’s too late. Use up the perishable food in your kitchen before going out and buying more.
Tristram Stuart is an environmentalist, a freegan, and a serious campaigner in the battle against the wastage of food. His book, “Waste” uncovers scandal and abomination left right and centre, in everything from kitchen fridges to corner stores to the big supermarket players. He’s the mastermind behind ‘Feeding the 5000’, and has recently been awarded with the prestigious Sophie Prize for his continuing world-saving efforts. Currently working on a film in India, I managed to catch up with him to find out a bit more about his ongoing journey.
What motivated you to take on this momentous battle against 'Waste'?
“When I was 15 I started keeping pigs and I fed them in the traditional way – on food waste. That’s what people domesticated pigs for several thousand years ago! I collected food waste from my school canteen, the local baker, greengrocer, market and a farmer throwing out potatoes because they were the wrong shape or size for supermarkets. Most of the food I collected was perfectly fit for human consumption and should never have been wasted in the first place. As an environmentalist, I saw that reducing food waste was one readily implementable way of limiting unnecessary damage to the environment and strain on global food supplies.”
On your ‘Waste’ journey, what has been the biggest glimmer of hope for you thus far?
“When I was researching the book, I stayed with the Ughyurs in NW China. On one occasion I finished a meal in a roadside restaurant and the chef had sat down to speak to me, but when I pushed away my bowl, he frowned and pointed at three grains of rice stuck to the bottom of the bowl and said “Clean!” He smiled as I dutifully cleaned up my plate. The Ughyurs believe that wasting food is an insult to the cook, the farmer and ultimately they believe it is also an insult to Allah. On this occasion I was really beaten at my own game. It made me realise that we – the people – have the power to bring about the necessary changes, by making it socially unacceptable to waste so much food.”
In addition to your book, you've had some other amazing projects on the go, like Feeding the 5000 and A Taste of Freedom. Could you tell us a bit about those?
“On 16th December 2009 in London’s Trafalgar Square, we fed 5000 people with free hot curry, fresh fruit smoothies and three tonnes of groceries. All of the food came from ingredients that otherwise would have been wasted, and was donated largely by UK farmers, packers, importers and wholesalers from the vast tonnages of good food that goes to waste on a daily basis due to the slightest cosmetic ‘defects’, such as being too small or too large to meet the supermarkets’ strict product standards.
The event was attended by over 5,000 people and witnessed by tens of millions through the exceptional domestic and international media coverage. Following the incredible success of Feeding the 5,000 the same team co-founded A Taste of Freedom, using smoothies made from surplus fruit that otherwise would have been wasted as a way of communicating how everyone can help to reduce the environmental and social impacts of food waste in fun and engaging ways.”