Planet Ark estimates Australians throw out 3 million tonnes of food every year, 136 kilograms per person, while in England and Wales an estimated £9bn of avoidable food waste ends up at the tip.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that up to, “one-fifth of America's food goes to waste each year,” and that, “49 million people could have been fed by those lost resources.”

Those scraps of generally uneaten or forgotten food are not only a reminder of the disparity of food distribution - what developing nations need developed nations throw away - but also have significant economic and environmental implications as rotting food releases methane, contributing to global warming.

Working to raise awareness and curb the impact food waste, Planet Ark launched its Foodwise campaign, with the goal of encouraging Australians to adopt ‘food wise’ habits. Starting with meal planning, considering portion control, promoting resource efficient modes of cooking, storing and composting of food, as well as informing consumers of the nutritional, social and environmental benefits of adopting a ‘paddock to plate’ mode of shopping and eating. The campaign aims to help consumers to become aware of how far their food has travelled, encouraging them to be mindful of all of the resources that have contributed to growing and transporting food.
 

Having a Positive Impact at Home

When we throw out food, we not only waste the food itself, but the resources that went into producing it. The CSIRO estimates that 1,500 litres of water are needed to produce a kilogram of rice, and up to 50,000 litres to produce a kilogram of beef. In addition to water, the carbon footprint created by the food travelling from the paddock to your plate can be substantial.

Such considerations inspired authors Philippa Sandall and Diane Temple to write Money Saving Meals, a cookbook that encourages economical and environmentally sustainable eating by reducing the amount of food you purchase and ensuring you use all of it.

Sandall and Temple’s weekly meal plans feature recipes that use all of the ingredients bought at the beginning of the week, i.e. no more rotting spring onions at the bottom of the vegetable crisper. “Taking some time to think about what are going to cook in a week, then making a shopping list, considering how best to use all of the listed ingredients,” Temple explains, “there is no point in buying a whole bunch of basil to flavour just one stir fry, consider how much further that bunch can go and put pesto on the menu as well.”

Chef Adrian Richardson of Melbourne’s La Luna restaurant, and author of cookbook MEAT, says it’s important to be mindful of the resources that have gone into growing our food and he believes we have a moral responsibility to make it go as far as we can. “In the case of meat, an animal’s life has been given, we should remember and respect the fact by ensuring we don’t waste it,” he says. Richardson says he is passionate about reducing waste, and has implemented systems in his restaurant kitchen to ensure that kitchen staff uses everything, “from the core of an onion for stock to offal, nothing is wasted,” he explains.
 

Reducing Food Waste Through ‘Food Rescue’

On a larger scale, organizations including OzHarvest, a not-for-profit food rescue organization works across Sydney, Wollongong and Canberra collecting and redistributing food to charities. In collecting excess food from retail outlets, cafes and restaurants OzHarvest has a positive impact on at risk communities and reduces food waste. At the time of writing, the organization had redistributed 3,520,902 meals since it was established in 2004.
 

Individual Rescue

Individuals driven by the desire to reduce food waste include the growing movement of ‘freegans’, politically minded individuals who ‘dumpster dive’ rescuing edible food that has been discarded, often only, due to its cosmetic appearance, for example a lettuce with wilting outer leaves or packaged food just a past the marked expiration or sell by date.
 

Grow It Yourself

While others choose to grow some of their food themselves. Russ Grayson, a Director of the Manly Food Co-operative in Sydney and spokesperson for of the Australian City Farms and Community Gardens Network, says the best way to reduce environmental impact is to grow what you can yourself, whether it be herbs or carrots in pots on the balcony, or becoming part of a community garden. “Being a part of a community garden has both environmental and social benefits,” he explains, “having direct access to fresh food gives you an element of control - you know exactly how it has been grown and how far it has travelled, and it reduces waste as you only take what you need”. Some community gardens also work as a depot for composting with many willing to take food scraps from local apartment dwellers.

Socially, Grayson says community gardens also work to fulfil, what Social Researcher Hugh McKay terms, ‘the herding instinct’, with the garden fulfilling the role of a village green, where people engage, share ideas and food, swapping vegetables and sharing excess crops.