15p out of every £ spent on food is thrown away....what a waste

organic_wanabe

Reading through this great thread it occurred to me that the only thing that I throw out is beansprouts, usually just under half a pack which equates to about 20p-worth but it really, really annoys me! Years ago I used to successfully make my own but I tried again a year or so ago and it was a total failure. So any ideas on successful storing of bought beansprouts or tips on successful home sprouting would be much appreciated.

I have just finished glancing through the Saturday papers and in one of them was an article about Britons binning £23 billions worth of food a year. The writer Tessa Cunningham kept a diary of what she threw out and it totalled £46.37 in one week and included things such as 8 butcher's sausages, 6 rashers of organic bacon, and smoked mackerel! This is a lady who, until she kept a note of what she actually discarded, had thought (in her own words) that she was a savvy shopper.

torbrex

I had a period of unemployment/low income a couple of years ago and it taught me how to be frugal these days I throw virtually nothing away except the bare bones. I have found these days that I never buy more than I can eat in 3 or 4 days and do my shopping twice a week. If I find my fresh stocks are getting low, I just dip into the freezer and there is always something there that I have frozen after cooking too much.

I blame refridgeration for all the wastage, people have lost the ability to tell when something is 'off' instead they rely on the date on the packaging, the trick is to buy less than you think you will use and if need be go hungy for a day or so. That way there would be less wastage and maybe even lose some weight into the bargain.

scrimperjan

organic_wanabe wrote: »

Reading through this great thread it occurred to me that the only thing that I throw out is beansprouts, usually just under half a pack which equates to about 20p-worth but it really, really annoys me! Years ago I used to successfully make my own but I tried again a year or so ago and it was a total failure. So any ideas on successful storing of bought beansprouts or tips on successful home sprouting would be much appreciated.

I have just finished glancing through the Saturday papers and in one of them was an article about Britons binning £23 billions worth of food a year. The writer Tessa Cunningham kept a diary of what she threw out and it totalled £46.37 in one week and included things such as 8 butcher's sausages, 6 rashers of organic bacon, and smoked mackerel! This is a lady who, until she kept a note of what she actually discarded, had thought (in her own words) that she was a savvy shopper.

If you keep your leftover beansprouts submerged in a jar full of water they will keep for a few more days. (I once won a prize in a magazine for this tip!)

I've read that article in the Daily Mail as well; it's like a different world, isn't it? And there I was hanging my head in shame 'cos I admitted that I sometimes throw out a couple of black bananas and bendy carrots. (Must Do Better!)

julesgr

I still shop at the supermarket but no way do we have that much waste!

This week I've thrown away 2 carrots a pepper and one potato! well actually i've hidden them in the garden waste bin! other than that no food wasted

I think this is partially because over the years i realised how wasteful my mother is/was (i'm training her) lol. she'd have bagfuls of wasted food all because she bought too much.

Churchmouse

organic_wanabe wrote: »

I have just finished glancing through the Saturday papers and in one of them was an article about Britons binning £23 billions worth of food a year. The writer Tessa Cunningham kept a diary of what she threw out and it totalled £46.37 in one week and included things such as 8 butcher's sausages, 6 rashers of organic bacon, and smoked mackerel! This is a lady who, until she kept a note of what she actually discarded, had thought (in her own words) that she was a savvy shopper.

I read this too, but the first thing I noticed was she says "The sell-by date on the fresh meat is only days away: I've no time to cook a fry-up in the week, so out go the bacon and sausages. What a shame" Is she so stupid she couldn't think of freezing them? £6.20 worth of sausage and bacon:eek: She clearly has a freezer because for the next day she throws out a part-used dessert that she says she can't refreeze! This fool threw out food everyday for a week. Maybe I'm just suspicious, but it makes a good read doesn't it?:rolleyes:

sammy_kaye18

Lol

Must admit there was a comment on here that i had a giggle at - so very wrong to do so but it was the wordign that made me giggle not the actual incident

Must say thanks to my sister and mothers lack of OSing we have been fortunate. They were both getting good before Xmas but fell back into old habits afterwards. Ive so far had a chicken, bacon and a bag full of veg that was growign things slightly - Er go lots fo soup for us and a roast dinner not to mention bacon butties in the morning. Im not complaining - it was all good.

Im shocked that some people waste so much - i dont have much of a garden to warrent a compost bin and i dont garden that much to need that much compost!!!!! Most of my peelings i keep for a man round the corner - he has an allotment and its only him so his compost bin is looking a bit bare so ive offered mine - any left over meat the doggie gets though which he likes and any eggs that are left or gone too far past their date - these are the only thing im funny wiht - they get boiled up and then deshelled and put in the garden for Vixie (the nieghbourhood fox) and her brood!

THIRZAH

I freeze over-ripe banas until I have enough to make banana bread or muffins. Just put them in the freezer in their skins-they will go black and look revolting.Before making the banana bread allow to thaw and then just remove the banana "mush" from the skins.

[Deleted User]

I must admit that I pretty disappointed about the post re my carbon footprint. I have been ecologically minded for over 35 years and have been vegetarion for many years although no longer, as we now eat meat twice a week. We were an active part of a wholefood cooperative when no-one cared about conservation.

I have grown my own veg for the last 22 years and then moved 2 years ago. The first thing we did in this house was to put low energy bulbs in, even including the downlighters which seem to be in every home these days. Each 50 w lamp was changed to 3 watts

I have flown three times in the last 35 years and choose to take my holidays in the uk. I ride a bike whenever I can

I have a farmers market 8 miles away but they do NOT sell local produce ie they sell olives, ostrich and meat from miles away

I will only feed us organic food and no-where in travelling distance sells it. Oh yes tesco does but I would rather support farmers at source hence riverford and graigfarm for me

Now it is a question of balance as in all things and for me organic and quality come first but I also have a very easy conscience because I know that my lifetime carbon footprint (new terminology, bandwagon thing by the way) is very much lower than that of the great majority in this counrtry.

For 36 years I have not been speaking it

---

I have been doing it

competitionscafe

I agree - those suppliers are in the UK and the parcel will be sent on a van which would be making the journey anyway. If you have a local supplier of equivalent quality then great, but not everyone has. Compare buying some produce from Graig Farm & Goodness Direct to a supermarket where you will find Beef from Argentina, Lamb from New Zealand (although this is shipped not air), Apples from USA, chicken in ready meals from Thailand and where even the 'local' produce can be sent halfway across the country by road to be packaged (Overpackaged!) and then all the way back again.

Surely it is the people who buy these products (and fly abroad regularly + drive where they could walk) who should be criticized for their carbon footprint?

If producers like Graig Farm just relied on orders from people local to them they may not be able to stay in business......

By the way I also order meat by mail order on occassion (a big order to stock up the freezer which lasts for several months) as well as the occassional order from Goodness Direct (although not for the past 2 years as I have now found all the items I used to get from them at local shops). In the past 15 years I have taken one return flight (from London to Edinburgh and back) and chosen not to own a car and use public transport instead - despite the cost and inconvenience this sometimes entails...

spiddy100

Kittie, I meant to reply to that post, I planned a reply in my head then got distracted by the kids before I posted.

mikeywills wrote: »

I am not sure where you live but 'Graig farm' is in mid wales, 'goodness direct' is in northampton and 'riverford' can be transported from all over the country.

I think waste not want not is a very sensible philosophy, but we really also need to check out our local suppliers by using someone like bigbarn, farmers markets, and local fairs to find good quality local produce.

I think for many people there is a choice that has to be made between sourcing ethical/organic/traditionally produced items OR shopping locally. It's great for those of us who can get both, but I'm not sure that's the norm, especially in urban areas.

A search in Bigbarn for my area (Dorset) comes up absolutely plastered with icons - lucky me, I have been out today at a farm shop and a local butchers. If I search on my old address in SW London though, there are hardly any, certainly not within a distance that would have been reasonable for me to travel on my way home from work on public transport. There was a farmers market there, but because of the distance restrictions on sellers, the produce was severely limited. Under these circumstances, I would have done what Kittie does and sourced food from the suppliers that were available to me, rather than just throw in the towel and shop at Tesco.

There's a bit in the FOE book (Spend Less Save the Planet I think) which discusses this choice. Their view is that if something can be organic, seasonal, fairly traded, AND local - perfect. If not, just try to tick some of the boxes with as many purchases as you can and you're still making a difference.