April 15, 2005

• I don't know if it's the same there, but in the US, so much food is pre-packaged in sizes that may not fit the household eating it that stuff gets thown out. For example, salad mix packages may be more than a couple of people can handle for one meal, but may be too stale to eat a day or two later. The same with pre-packaged meat - if I want enough chops for three of us, I probably have to buy enough for 5. If I freeze the remaining pieces, I have to remember that I've got them in the freezer the next time I shop for something I may cook only occasionally, and will still have to buy more than I need, since I need enough for three, and have enough left for one. and will have to buy for 5 again. Where I live, there's no meat counter where I can buy exactly the amount I need of meat., and the pre-packaged stuff seems to come in odd lots. I'm sure it's purposefull.
• Ah, but we still waste the most energy!
• Well, this explains much: my household has become British. Vampire pumpkins were only the start of it! Woe to them as throws out the homegrown peas and the organic carrots!!
• I'm not at all surprised by this. *Empties fridge into bin*
• I hate wasting food (as it's me that buys it), but we do sometimes find ourselves binning unopened packs of chicken etc cos they're past their use by date etc. Mrs kitfisto is the worst offender. Being naturally mean makes me super efficient in this area. I'm pretty sure it's nowhere near a third that gets binned in our house. I did buy 2 packs of sausages in Sainsbury's last night, but only cos it was 2 for 1 and I've got until the 25th to eat 'em. Plus I love a nice sausage butty on a Saturday morning... Mmmm...brown sauce...
• Eep. I have to admit guilt, even though I'm a pretty parsimonious buyer. And parsimony sometimes adds to the prolem. Even though I rarely buy large amounts of stuff because it's cheaper to do so (I know that I'll just waste most of it when I can't finish it), I do buy stuff "on clearance" which has a use-by date that's very close (usually 24-48 hours). But then, if I didn't buy it, the supermarket would have to bin the whole packet, whereas I usually can use at least half of the item before it goes bad (I try to use it all, of course). My worst sins are bottles of milk and juice I leave in the fridge on weekends when I go gallivanting, and come back to see these bloated things just waiting to explode.
• A couple of points to note from the article: - The US rate is estimated at 25%, still a very significant amount if not as alarming as the 40% estimate for the UK. In gross tonnage, the US no doubt beats the UK. - Most of the waste is in the supply chain in the form of products that do not meet program standards for supermarkets and food wholesalers. In other words, the tomato that is not large enough or the apple with one too many bruises, as well as unsold food that must be disposed of after it passes its sale date. My guess is that American industrial farming has managed to do a slightly better job at eliminating defects at the processing end.
• americans also waste vast amounts of food, so much so that "freegans" are able to exist solely on our waste. yup they eat our garbage.
• the US still plans and factors in for huge amounts of waste-- why fix what's broke when we can keep adding bandaids? why make bioplastics when we can add more corn syrup to everything? why have renewable-- *strangles on own known reguritation of the known* actually i just wanted to mention how my mom may be the patron saint of chucking out food-- but that's almost as messy a combination of issues to explain
• Isn't waste "good for the economy"...? Consumerism, people. Doesn't matter if it ends up in your belly. You can only eat so much anyway. Keep buying those econo-packs...
• Freezers. Freezers are AMAZING. I only have a tiny one now (top of the fridge), but it's full. I buy meat in big family packs for my roommate and I when it's on sale, but I break them up into individual servings (about 4 ounces) and freeze them. I also save our takeout containers (they are often these good plastic tubs) to use for left overs, which I will also freeze. We finally just used up the 8 litres of turkey stock from Thanksgiving. When I grow up, I'm going to have a freezer big enough to get stuff out of it without having to dump most of it.
• I freeze bread and bagels. There's no way I can finish a pack of them before they spoil, otherwise. It is a bit of a pain when I'm in a rush and just want to grab something on my way out, but at least it's still there, and edible, when I do have time to spare.
• PY, try putting a few slices in the vegetable compartment. It keeps quite well there, provided you keep it fairly airtight and moisture-free. And a quick pop into the toaster will get the bread soft again.
• Thanks, Alnedra! I'm thinking of getting one of those breadboxes to help out with the airtight aspect.
• We freeze our bread too, and buy about half fresh, half frozen vegetables. A bag of frozen peas lasts for ages. We rarely get through all our fresh vegetables in a week, though, but what's left over is composted so it makes a return to the garden in new form.
• American bread never goes moldy, at least not the cheap mass produced stuff. It's scary. But the nice bakery bread does, so I freeze that.
• I usually freeze the liver and the kidneys, unless I have to use a knife. Sometimes, also a leg, as it can provide quite a meal. It usually depends on how many....