So sad to see food waste :(

[Phaedra]

Whenever I read such news, I feel sad about the wasted food, energy, efforts, and landfill troubles. I just watched a video and realized how terrifying it could be. Why don't shops offer very good discounts before the best-before date, so whoever needs them can bring them home?

We no longer went to Lidl for those discounted ingredients because another supermarket did it in a much better way - they offer a 30% discount for whatever will be due in three days. Lidl changed their policy and only provided a 30% discount after 8 pm on the last best-before day.

 

[AMKuska]

If you want to see the full scope of food waste, I highly recommend the documentary, "Just Eat It." Here's a shot from it:

Unexpired hummus, the dumpster is several feet deep. No recalls. Nothing wrong with it.

 

[Phaedra]

If you want to see the full scope of food waste, I highly recommend the documentary, "Just Eat It." Here's a shot from it:
View attachment 55357
Unexpired hummus, the dumpster is several feet deep. No recalls. Nothing wrong with it.

Thanks, I found where I can buy the film and will watch now.

 

[Branching Out]

I have never heard of this film despite it being Canadian and filmed in the Vancouver area, where I live. I will try to find it and watch it.

The photo of the dumpster full of hummus from 2014 looks like a brand carried by one of our big grocery chains called 'Superstore.' Perhaps the film sparked a change for the better, because this chain now operate a really cool program to reduce and eliminate food waste, through an app called 'FlashFood.' Basically if they are overstocked with an item or if perishable items are going to expire, they offer them on the app for a deep discount. The items can pop up on the app at any time of the day, and when they do it is like a sport to see who can add it to their 'cart' and check out first. Sometimes there is only one of an item, and sometimes there are lots of the item. I routinely purchased 750ml Greek yogurt for just a dollar or less, or 75 cents for a 16-pack of individual yogurts. Fruits and vegetables are placed in a carton and offered for $5 in a good sized box. They even photograph the contents of the fruit and veggie box, so you know what you are getting. My neighbours and I often snap up the deals, and then share with each other. It's great! For meat I just make sure that I cook it up or freeze it right away, and items like yogurt actually last for several months past the best before date if unopened. Picking up the items is quick and easy, by popping by the customer service desk near the entrance to the store.

 

[Phaedra]

We just came back from Saturday evening shopping - whatever won't have a nice presentation on next Monday will be sold at 50% discount.

I didn't expect to see Tulips and potted Basils; however, it's welcome so they won't be wasted.

I pinched the basils immediately, fed them with diluted seaweed fertilizer, and let them stay on the shelf with seeds that wait for germinating. I will repot them tomorrow.

 

[AMKuska]

I have never heard of this film despite it being Canadian and filmed in the Vancouver area, where I live. I will try to find it and watch it.

The photo of the dumpster full of hummus from 2014 looks like a brand carried by one of our big grocery chains called 'Superstore.' Perhaps the film sparked a change for the better, because this chain now operate a really cool program to reduce and eliminate food waste, through an app called 'FlashFood.' Basically if they are overstocked with an item or if perishable items are going to expire, they offer them on the app for a deep discount. The items can pop up on the app at any time of the day, and when they do it is like a sport to see who can add it to their 'cart' and check out first. Sometimes there is only one of an item, and sometimes there are lots of the item. I routinely purchased 750ml Greek yogurt for just a dollar or less, or 75 cents for a 16-pack of individual yogurts. Fruits and vegetables are placed in a carton and offered for $5 in a good sized box. They even photograph the contents of the fruit and veggie box, so you know what you are getting. My neighbours and I often snap up the deals, and then share with each other. It's great! For meat I just make sure that I cook it up or freeze it right away, and items like yogurt actually last for several months past the best before date if unopened. Picking up the items is quick and easy, by popping by the customer service desk near the entrance to the store.

Can I message you about this? I run an environmental blog and reviewed that documentary on it. I'd love to do a follow up talking about changes it brought about. I'll also contact the brand and see if they want to chat too. It could be a very beneficial post.

 

[Branching Out]

Can I message you about this? I run an environmental blog and reviewed that documentary on it. I'd love to do a follow up talking about changes it brought about. I'll also contact the brand and see if they want to chat too. It could be a very beneficial post.

Sure, I would be happy to offer my perspectives.

 

[flowerbug]

a while back when the news came out with the story about how much food is wasted by the average family it made me think of all the resulting pollution and waste of energy it took to produce and package all that plus all the packaging ending up in landfills and the land use it represents along with the destruction of topsoil, use of fertilizers, *cides, ...

330 million plus people doing that.

we're an incredibly rich society that we can afford such waste.

personally i'm rather upset by any food wasting that goes on here and i try to make sure it doesn't happen. we've probably kept it down to less than 1% that spoils and even if it does i can feed it to the worm farm i many cases. the other aspect is that i hate wasting money and to me money spent on food that is eventually wasted is also a wasted expenditure.

when i've grown it (and sometimes canned it myself) and it has ended up being wasted or spoiled that doesn't bother me as much because i know there weren't any *cides used and also it goes right back into the system without it being transported very far (100 feet max). the loss of time and labor is more important but this kind of thing doesn't happen very often either. beans are good fresh, shelly or dry so i have one to three chances of production for each plant not counting the fiber grown that gets put back into the ground when the crop is done. moving pods around and shelling and then putting the pods back out happens as needed, some pods go through the worm farm.

small local circles are more efficient than things that look more like local straight lines. you can make those lines more circular but the further away you get the more energy it takes (recycling or incinerating it still takes energy to haul the stuff around).

 

[digitS']

less than 1% that spoils

That would be phenomenal.

Incinerating food wastes isn't 100% efficient because of moisture content of most foods. So, fuel is expended just to dry so much of it before it burns generating energy (& messing up our air).

An industrialized food industry is a large part of the problem.

We have to be careful on all fronts, however. A new study by University of Colorado researchers takes a hard look at obesity and health problems. If I have this right, the Body Mass Index during the final weeks of life skews the statistics. Years of overeating may hasten those weeks more than was previously thought and especially so since sedentary lifestyles have become more and more the norm.

It looks like my daily exercise will be behind a snow shovel. @Branching Out 's snowstorm has just arrived.

Steve, having finished his French toast chosen for breakfast because a second loaf of whole wheat was picked up on Friday's run to the grocery store.

 

[digitS']