How much food do you throw away?
There are certain traits of a nation, negative though they may be, that are also positive.
For instance, no one likes that Canadians and Americans are so fat, though you can see the argument coming: the mere fact that we’re able to eat so much, so poorly, is a testament to the wealth of our countries.
Again, it’s not what we want, but it’s reality, and now another embarrassment-of-riches story has come out once more.
According to a new study, Americans throw away nearly half their food each year, a problem that wastes more than $150 billion annually. Bad? No doubt, but are Canadians much further behind?
By the new report from the U.S.’ Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Americans toss 40 per cent of their food each year, good for $165 billion total ending up in the dumps.
*Bing: How to prevent food waste
On a per family (of four) basis, that’s about $2,275 each year of thrown-away food.
Of course, such a report comes with the usual guilt trip figures. According to the NRDC, just a 15 per cent reduction in wasted food would be enough to feed 25 million Americans annually.
Though let’s not dare saddle up a high horse here in Canada.
By one of the latest studies on food waste in Canada, we fall short of the U.S. in total dollars but remain right in the line in terms of percentages.
About $27 billion worth of food finds its way into Canadian landfills each year, but some of the most recent estimates still put that at 40 per cent of our total food.
“There’s just something wrong with throwing away food when so many people go without,” Jonathan Bloom, author of the book American Wasteland, told the Star last year.
How much food do you figure you throw away, and what do you do to ensure minimum waste?
By Jason Buckland, MSN Money
Posted by: Lang | Aug 22, 2012 8:13:10 PM
I have never thrown out food, EVER!
Posted by: karra | Aug 23, 2012 12:46:32 PM
I really can't wrap my head around numbers like this. Occasionally, I have to throw out a banana that's gone black (3 blackening bananas = banana bread however), or more often in a box of mandarins or blueberries ets there'll be some going moldy when you buy them. Once a week on garbage day, I'll look at the fridge to see if anything's gone moldy, but 1/2 can of tomato sauce or 1/2 small yogurt will be the most I'd find. Leftovers are frozen as whole meals, or used in soups or stirfries. For example, if I see half a red pepper, half an onion, a few spinach leaves and some pasta in the fridge from the night before we have a minestrone or a stirfry in the making, adding a few things to the leftovers. Leftover pizza willl be a work lunch the next day or frozen. I thought everyone did this - how do they get these numbers? Do they count chicken bones and rhubarb leaves or what?
Posted by: don | Aug 23, 2012 1:48:03 PM
I never threw away much until the childern left home, then for awhile I threw away a lot. After I adjusted to them being gone I throw away very little. It does irk me that the smaller sizes cost so much more but I now l pay a little more so I dont have the waste. It was hard to go from a family size to a smaller size annd see little or no savings for the decreased amount in the package. What I can not believe is the amount of people I have spoken to that have stated they would not eat anything left over. What's with that? I do know if I threw away everything that was leftover I would be throwing away a lot more.
Quite often the reworked meals are better.Soups, stews and chili are better the second day.
The catch is you need to be able to cook and there is so much pre-packed food advertised as home cooked I wonder how many people who think they cook actually could if you gave them base ingredients. Maybe we are lacking the ability to re-use what was leftover.
Posted by: Thomas Olson | Aug 23, 2012 9:05:08 PM
I'm too poor to waste food. Every calorie is accounted for. If I buy a chicken, I use the bones.
Posted by: Steve | Aug 24, 2012 12:02:30 PM
Stuff the guilt trips
The main reason that we are able to throw away food in this country is because so little of it goes to waste prior to delivery to the grocery stores. For everyone who's feeling bad after watching those big eye'd children on the charity begging commercials I say this. Go to Africa (or just research a bit) to see how much of their food rots in the ground or goes to waste long before it every reaches a consumers hands.
We can waste a bit of food (by purchasing too much) or we can waste more food through driving back and forth to the stores to buy it in smaller quantities. Yes folks E85 gasoline takes food from the mouths of starving children and puts it into your cars fuel tank. Thank you American farming lobby !
Posted by: Frank | Aug 24, 2012 12:56:54 PM
Whether we waste food by throwing it out or by eating too much it's all the same. Americans / Canadians makes no difference. I do agree with Steve the rest of the world has a broken down delivery system and the waste is up front.
Posted by: Lindsay | Aug 26, 2012 11:20:19 PM
I throw almost nothing away. Leftovers are already planed into their next meal.
I recycle everything from food to packaging. Left over cooked rice for example is set out on the counter to dry and becomes bird seed for the bird feeder.
My household garbage is one grocery store bage every three weeks. I have a variety of sizes of containers for freezing and nothing in my house is wasted.
I have learned what it means to be a good steward of my money as the bible teaches. I only buy what I am going to eat, and for spaghetti sauce and other large container foods I use what I need and freeze the rest of the jar. Apple sauce is poured into four seperate containers when the jar is opened, one goes in the fridge, and three are frozen. This month my grocery bill was $52.00, and I had steak three times, various cuts of chicken, ham steak, pork roast, and pasta dishes. Never missed a meal and even fed company twice this month. Waste not, want not!
Posted by: Shawn | Aug 26, 2012 11:52:30 PM
I use to work at a Grocery store and I currently work at a fast food restaurant both of those establishments throw away alot of food that either naturally goes bad or you are not allowed to save for the following day. Plus I find reading this article to be alittle misleading it always talks about food waste in the form of "families" but I believe they are referring to Canadians as a whole society ( That includes Corporate Canada as well). Either way we throw away too much!
Posted by: Mr. Negative | Aug 27, 2012 10:49:46 AM
First - how the heck can you actually confirm these stats? How do you know how much food is really at the dump? (what is scraps from the cooking process and what is hole?) How can they really prove these numbers?
Second - restaurants waste food everyday - most don't give away the left overs and they go straight to the garbage - and this is good food/not spoiled
Third - even with all the wasted food, this isn't a topic of feeding poorer countries. Everyone in the world could eat - if there wasn't greed! Seriously - there isn't a shortage of food - yet a shortage of what they can produce and sell. Aparently - we throw away thousands of litres of milk every year before it even gets to the super market - you know, to keep the costs what they are.
Fourth - With so many different grocery stores and now with Walmarts, Canadian Tires, Shoppers Drug marts etc selling food - how much really goes to waste that they don't sell?
I personally think there is more waste on the corporate end then in the households. Actually - if you look at waste as a whole - i bet the corporate side is responsible for majority. (even money)