Eating greener and smarter to help the planet
Eating greener and smarter to help the planet.
Before the livestock farmers get on our case, this is not about becoming a vegetarian, many of us enjoy meat as part of a balanced diet. It's about looking at the balance of what we eat and how much we buy.
Eat everything you buy. How much is in your food waste bin each week?
The UK alone was responsible for 9.52 million tonnes of food waste in 2018, according to a study by the sustainable charity Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). If we exclude the inedible parts of the wasted food, 6.4 million tonnes of completely edible food was thrown away in 2018. Households caused 70% of the UK’s food waste, throwing away 6.6 million tonnes of food, of which 4.5 million tonnes was edible. That amount of edible food wasted was enough to create an additional 10.5 billion meals.
The environmental impact - More than 25 million tonnes of greenhouse gases (GHG) is emitted by the food that the country wastes every year, according to WRAP. That’s 5.5% of our entire national GHG emissions – and more than Kenya, a country of 53 million people – on food that’s simply thrown away.
Buying less also means lower import, production, transport and packaging costs for food delivered but not consumed.
Top 10 foods that contribute to food waste in the UK
These are the most wasted food types in the country, according to WRAP.
You’ll notice that potatoes are on the list twice, in different forms.
1. Potato (fresh)
2. Bread
3. Milk
4. Meals (homemade and pre-prepared)
5. Fizzy drinks
6. Fruit juice and smoothies
7. Pork
8. Poultry (chicken, turkey, and duck)
9. Carrots (fresh)
10. Potato (processed)
(Source: The eco experts Jan 19th 2023)
Buy local. Try to select produce produced locally. Stick to seasonal vegetables with a low carbon footprint.. Every delivery mile saved helps.
Carbon Neutral Northleach
