Photo by Sven Scheuermeier on Unsplash
When i was growing up my grandpa always say don’t waste food. He doesn’t want to see even just a piece of rice fall from our plates. I think because he knows how hard the process of planting, watering, maintaining and taking care of rice plant before it even get to your plate.
Do you think food waste is one of our world’s problem? Have you ever think of how much resources is use to produce food. The land that has been deforested, species that have been driven to extinction, people that had been moved, soil that has been degraded, water to irrigate crops – all to produce food that we then just throw away. Throw away and ends in the landfill. And have you ever think that there is no away. You throw waste away from your house, but their really not away. Away from you, but the truth is its just move to some other place.
And have you think of world hunger. That some other people sleep at night with an empty stomach and wake up the next day to still not having food. They say that 1 in 9 people on the planet are starving or malnourished.
Don’t you think it’s morally wrong to waste food while others are starving to death.
That’s why, it breaks my heart all the time when i have to throw away food. Why do I have throw away food, when on the other part of the world people are dying from hunger. And thinking that you work so hard to earn money, then you throw away the same money on the garbage. Not just your money but all the resources use to make that food. And all the work you’ve put into it, from buying it, transporting it to your home, cooking it, storing it and then it all ends up on the garbage. Did you know that more than 50% of food waste takes place in our home.
I am not going too extreme here, I am not saying that other people are hungry because of you. Or that you don’t have to spend too much on foods. What i am saying is we have to think or be reminded of what can be done to avoid wasting food. But some people might say “but i work for my money” and “I pay for my food so i can do whatever i want from it”. But this is just a reminder, a tip that we might benefit from. A step that may help someone or help the environment or be beneficial to our pocket.
Wasting food is not right, we all know. Do you think our good Lord in heaven is happy with wasting food. I think Christians should be in the front row of stopping food waste. I was thinking, If I will calculate all amount of food that my family wasted, maybe it can feed some hungry people. How much more if all people around the globe try to not waste food. It will make a major impact in our life, to others lives and to our environment.
I think there are some ways we can make this right. BUT HOW?
Here are some ways to avoid food waste:
- The number one and most basic is don’t buy too much. Shop carefully and thoughtfully. Just get what you can consume till the next grocery shopping.
- Check fridge and pantry before grocery shopping.
- Plan your meal and make grocery list
- Just buy whats only needed that’s on the list.
- Store your food properly. Keeping your food in the right condition is another way of avoided waste. Keep vegetable on the fridge. Freeze food that can be frozen.
- Make the most out of your left overs. You can pack them for lunch the next day. Or maybe freeze your leftover.
- Check expiration dates of food when purchasing and discarding food.
- Don’t serve too much food. Specially when you have kids.
- Don’t buy in bulk if you’re just trying food for the first time.
- Inventory your fridge and pantry often, to check what you have. Use up food that is needed to be use first.
- Don’t be a picky eater.
- Compost food waste and turn them into soil.
- Donate your excess food. You can give away foods to neighbors or friends. Or you can giveaway unused food to the food bank.
If we all make a decision to stop throwing away food, we’ll all save ourselves money. We’ll also cut down waste that we send on landfill. Its a win-win situation.
DECIDE TO STOP WASTING FOOD AND DO IT NOW!
