Undertaking a war on waste

This is my latest project - a war on waste food.

Every so often there is a noticeable increase in the cost of food. This is prompted sometimes by food shortages caused by floods or drought or cyclones in major food producing areas and at other times increases are inevitable and related to the cost of production.

I consider that throwing out food is a waste of money.  This is not an opinion held by everybody. There seems to be a point of view where the amount of food thrown out to landfill equates with the bank balance and a sense of financial superiority over others.  Cutting back on food waste is a tedious, petty idea which doesn’t sit well with the busy lifestyle of the rich and famous and the whole idea smacks of parsimony and petty small-minded people too afraid to spend a cent.

Producing food which is destined for landfill is not just a waste of money it’s a waste of resources. Food production requires water and energy to grow and there are the added energy requirements for processing, packaging and transporting.  While the energy companies, the processors, packers and transport companies could not give a toss what goes to landfill as long as they are paid, our energy resources would go that bit further if we wasted less.

And then there is the problem of food waste going to landfill, breaking down and emitting methane which science has shown to be a contributor to climate change. One of the problems with methane is its invisibility. There is much talk about something which no-one can see; methane doesn’t drift along in a dark blue cloud with its very own homing device and return to settle in your yard or over the exterior of your building. If it did people might think more about their actions. Then again, they might not, the current default position for nearly everything currently, is to deny responsibility for the problem.

And so back to my teensy-weensy actions in my war against food waste, which will certainly not save the world but might give me a few extra coins to rattle around in my purse and the idea that I have made an effort in making a difference to something I see as important.

The battle front in this war at the Trash Palace will be in the kitchen cupboards, the inside of the refrigerator and writing up a shopping list that has only essential items on it.

I have done very well for the first month of the year but it is early days and there are many hurdles at which I might fall.

Bolte Bridge - Melbourne                                       April 2015