It has been estimated we waste roughly 40 percent of all the food we produce. Shame on us! This is an environmental disaster. Food production is a resource-intensive process, requiring water, energy, land, human labour plus an elaborate web of production, processing and distribution infrastructure. When we throw away food we also squander all these resources. Fortunately, the food waste dilemma is solvable. Yes, it must be addressed at every sector of the food system from farm to retailer to restaurant to municipality. However, as individual food consumers there are plenty of ways we can all help reduce waste. We can plan ahead, make lists, buy only what we need and eat what we buy. We can eat leftovers. If we end up with food we can’t eat we can share it with friends or donate it to a food bank or shelter. When we choose to compost we transform food waste into value for the soil as well. Each one of us is part of the solution.
-Lisa James
