| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Azura Skye |
Food waste - amazing photosand article on Freeganism on the Guardian webbie.Pics Article |
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| Barefoot Andrew |
Blimey 
A. |
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| wipka84 |
I used to work on the backdoor of Tesco's (for my sins at uni). i reckon I had to throw between 6-10 large cages of food in a single shift (7.5 hours of a 24 hour day working supermarket.). Whether it was surplus dough from the bakery, fresh rolls, dented cans, fresh produce, unbought cooked chickens, fish, cheese etc..
If its out of date or too past its best to be reduced then its chucked into a compactor. The most shocking bit is the food and fish thats wasted without the chance of selling at all! |
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| Azura Skye |
yeah I think those were the worst ones, the poor fish who died for nothing. All those oranges and bananas that never had a chance to become a smoothie. | ||||||||||
| Treacodactyl |
Sadly not surprising although you'd have though after recent rises in food prices in the last few years and the current recession less food would be wasted.
Anyone know if there are any numbers that shows how much food is wasted compared to consumed, and how that's changed over the years? I thought the cows grazing next to the poultry remains was worrying, but again, not surprising. |
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| oldish chris |
Young Tristram is getting a lot of publicity, he was on the radio on Monday morning ("Start the Week"). The fact that struck me was being reminded that some foodstuffs, such as wheat, are traded globally, so that chucking away four slices from every loaf is actually impacting on the international price. So indirectly, that wasted bread is being taken from the mouths of third world children. | ||||||||||
| vegplot |
It's difficult to imagine a pile of food weighing in at 6 million tonnes, the amount we waste in the UK every year. The further from the source the waste occurs the greater its impact. | ||||||||||
| AnnaD |
That's awful
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| Rob R |
What do you mean by impact? The field of spinach is likely to have a huge impact upon the producer, whereas if it were sold & wasted, it would at least mean the producer could go on producing... However, we are very concious of food waste here and yet still a fair bit gets 'wasted' (depends if compost/animals (where legal) counts as waste). Institutionalised waste & economic waste have increased so much in recent decades where we are 'saved' from the risk by the state or prevented from eating the food because it makes someone money. (Thinking about fish in particular- stupid quota system  )
It is a stark reminder of why our food systems need to fundamentally change by moving away from large companies controlling our food production & distribution. Food should be produced by the people, for the people... |
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| arvo |
OMG Skye that's terrifying. The fish was the worst you're right, but the seas of perfectly good oranges, bananas and tomatoes. Truly, truly scary and makes RIF's point from the thread about industrial farming.
Minamoo have you sent the Guardian your link? |
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| vegplot |
If someone throws a way a bag of spinach then it's not just the spinach that wasted, it's the packaging, handling, and transport. However, it doesn't compare to the waste and impact a supermarket decision has on the producer and their ability to produce. |
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| Nick |
I half caught the Start the Week thing, I think. They were explaining that we destroy rain forest to produce food (Either crop or grazing). And the amount we waste would mean we could stop chopping down rain forest.
So, yes, the loss is those fish, or the ham, or the wheat, but also the lungs of the planet. I can't help but think that it's one of the bigger problems we'll have to address as we run slowly out of oil and are forced to conserve energy. |
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| Rob R |
Oh yeah, as I forgot to add to my first post, a message for everyone; NEVER buy washed potatoes- it's a sure way of ensuring you are wasting at least 100% of what you actually take home. | ||||||||||
| Treacodactyl |
What about a pre-packed sandwich? We tend to make our own and it's been a few years since I bought one but if I'm paying £4 I wouldn't want a crust. Can't they bake very long loaves or at least feed the crusts to animals? (I know that sounds trivial but I can't see the demand for pre-packed sandwiches ending soon). | ||||||||||
| Simon |
Me too. And you guys in the DEFRA cloak aren't even allowed to feed your pigs on the 'homegrown - organic' produce from your own garden if it has gone via the kitchen. 
If I were in the UK and had livestock I would have to think twice about 'law abiding'. |
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| Azura Skye |
I got really sad about consumerism yesterday. It's everywhere - including myself, and it's blinking annoying (and guilt inducing) when you satisfy it like a bad addiction. :/
But I think I needed to feel that because I'd gotten complacent, and there's so much more stuff I can do that's proactive and helpful. So feeling down is motivation to change sometimes! |
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| Treacodactyl |
It's a European wide law...
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/by-prods/wastefood/cater-qa.htm |
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| Rob R |
Are you not familiar with the concept of France? |
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| Rob R |
Yeah, definitely, and doing something positive is such a lifting experience that it really gives you a lift.  I do believe people are biting back against industrial food though- the local small towns seem to be doing so much better than I remember them as a child in the '80's/90's.
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| Simon |
Obviousely not. We didn't move here to live like the froggies. Sorry.
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| resistance is fertile |
There are some odd connections in the world of food waste too.
Eg, in UK waters we chuck away some 600,00 tonnes a year of freshly caught fish before it even reaches the shores/shops, purely because according to CFP regs its the wrong sort of fish!! Iceland generates annual marine exports of around $1.4 billion from not much more than this as its entire catch. Since the EU banned the feeding of animal waste to livestock (supposedly to stop the risk of BSE) we have mainly turned to Brazilian Soya as a source of protein. The area needed to meet this rise in EU demand is the same as the area deforested in Brazil since 1996. Like I said, some odd connections. |
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| Treacodactyl |
I think the Brits are getting more like the French every day. | ||||||||||
| Rob R |
Sorry for the misunderstanding, I was referring to Treac, though 
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| Rob R |
You've highlighted two of the things that bother me most in UK food there... And as I was thinking about today- how much better off are we as a result of the legislation? Have we really saved anything equal to the cost (and I mean the full cost, not just the cost to government) of implementing & complying with this legislation? I'd like to think that the measures brought in post-FMD [or insert your crisis of choice here] would be enough to stop it happening again, but I very much doubt it. It's all fiddling about at the wrong end of the spectrum & benefiting very few.
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| Slim |
Unfortunately I'm done with college and back in my hometown, which doesn't have very good dumpster diving - most stores have compactors now. Maybe I should go out searching again though....
The biggest issue is that the easiest food to find thrown out is the stuff I'd care for the least (Dunkin Donuts, blech!) |
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| twoscoops |
Sadly I think the amount of food disposed of by supermarkets is a distraction. While retailers factor in wastage to business plans they (we) are acutely aware that wastage = erosion of margin. I think that if you spread those bins of wasted food between the mouths that were fed by a shop every day then it would be tiny compared to what people bin at home, where I fancy the cost of such waste is rarely considered. | ||||||||||
| Rob R |
Yeah, like making sure it is the supplier who foots the bill
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| twoscoops |
No I don't do that, I think about what I will sell and If I don't I take the hit on margin. | ||||||||||
| Rob R |
If only ASDA were the same hence the washed spuds warning
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