How much food we throw away?

I recently read an article in the Economist claiming that about 30-50% of all food produced rots away uneaten, both in rich and poor countries. In poor countries this percentage is so high, because of post-harvest waste, due to ill treatment of mice, rats and other animals who eat the food on the farm or in the storage. There is also the problem with short existing foods that spoil during transportation.

In the rich countries, however, the situation is totally different. This staggering percent of food is lost because it is thrown away from restaurants and shops. As the article states, top of the list are bread, salads and fruits, which are foods that people are most likely to order and never eat. In America thrown food amounted for 43m tonnes in 1997 and in Britain - 4m in 2006 !

Population is growing and reading about food prices going up, while so much food is carelessly thrown away makes me angry at the spoiled habits people in countries like America and Britain have developed. Unfortunately, it will take years until these bad habits, a result of easy gains, disappear. Until them, the controversial current state of people dying of obesity in America and children dying of hunger in Africa will continue to widen the gap between the rich and the poor countries.

Read more on the topic and join in the Zero Waste Europe campaign here : www.zerowasteeurope.eu

We Are What We Eat

If you are what you eat, and especially if you eat industrial food, as 99 percent of Americans do, what you are is "corn." This quote is taken from the website: www.ecoliteracy.org. The authors of this sentence argue, that after examining the food chain of popular foods in the USA (mainly fast food) it almost always lead to the corn field in Iowa. I was surprised and shocked to learn for example, that french fries in McDonalds are fried in corn oil!

This website made me think more deeply into this topic. How important is food in our lives? Very important, indeed, but do we really know what we eat? Although we are living longer now, most of the people are overweight and a very big percent do not really know from where their food comes from (Argentina, Africa, Chile?). When I pick up food from our grocery store, I basically look for the following features:
- Food is local. This is the MOST important matter I consider when buying fruits & vegs, fish, meat or cheeses. If we all choose the local food, millions of transport cost would be saved. When food is transported across the ocean, God knows what ingredients they add in order to preserve it for long time.
- I read the labels. It may take some longer time shopping, but it is worth it. Be sure to read the small letters and signs. Reading the labels is important, because after all, the governments are trying to protect us somehow and there are some regulations about labeling the food properly. We are all literate humans, so we should READ more carefully, especially the expiry date.
- Disregard colourful packing. It may look good, but over-packed items are to be avoid. If the supermarket has a stand for fresh food, visit it more often.
- Food diversitication. Do not stick to one kind of food only, because if it turns bad, you will be way more affected if you eat it every day, than if you eat it once a week. This is also very important for your diet, of course.

And finally, I would like to share another very interesting link on the topic, which I found on facebook today - www.giyireland.com. It is a charity, which is there to inspire people to grow their own food. There are some really useful ideas and tips for food growing. An amazing website and an amazing idea! I wish them good luck!

MEAT THE TRUTH

Among all the environmental videos on the net, MEAT THE TRUTH stands out, because it is about a topic, which has been neglected for too long - the life-stock farming and their impact on the global warming. The striking figures are that this kind of farming is responsible for 18% of the green-house gases, while the transportation is the mere 13%! How is this possible? Find out in this amazing video and I hope that more people join the vegetarians club!

Organic yellow cheese

Today I picked up from the supermarket organic yellow cheese (on the pic). I never tried it before, because the price is twice as the normal cheese and I've heard rumours that it is tasteless. Well, here I have to confirm that fact. The cheese is just like rubber! No taste at all! Looking at the label, I see nothing different from a normal cheese, except that it has been made from bio cow milk. What does this mean is not explained further.

Observing these disadvantages of the organic yellow cheese - tasteless and expensive, I cannot help but wonder how these people are fighting the competition with the other cheeses and who on earth buys their product? Do they only count on this tiny percent of people, who try to eat only organic and who can really understand that IT IS organic (well, there are some signs and numbers on the packing which might mean something!?). Do organic products have any future?