“Let’s feed people, not landfills.” –Gina McCarthy, EPA Administrator
Thanksgiving is a time when we pause, however briefly, to feel grateful for the bountiful Earth, the sustenance it provides, and our continued existence. It’s a wonderful day especially for environmentally-minded folks as it reminds us of nature’s plenty and positive sustaining yield when treated well.
Most of us are lucky enough to enjoy a big feast. We load our plates with more turkey than we can eat accompanied by all the fixin’s (plus pumpkin pie). Even the poor and hungry can find places like the Community Kitchen or churches to get a most generous Thanksgiving dinner served by thoughtful volunteers. But after we have over eaten, the rest is often mindlessly thrown away.
Yes, we in the United States waste 30 to 40 percent of our food even though one in eight children go to bed hungry each night. Here’s an interesting fact: 31 percent of fresh tomatoes bought by U.S. households are thrown out—that’s 21 tomatoes a year per person! Meanwhile, the EPA says that in 2013, 48 million lived in food insecure households. In 2010, 31 percent (133 billion pounds) of the available food supply at the retail and consumer levels went uneaten.
While feeding the hungry is a problem, it’s not the only one coming from food waste. Food makes up 21 percent of the waste stream of materials in American trash. This large volume of disposed food is the main contributor to the roughly 18 percent of total U.S. methane emissions coming from landfills or via incinerators. The production of food is one of the human activities with the greatest impact on climate change.
What to do? It’s complicated, but in September 2015 the United States’ first-ever national food waste reduction goal was announced calling for a 50 percent reduction by 2030. New partnerships are forming to reduce food loss and waste thereby improving overall food security while conserving natural resources.
There are ways to help. Restaurant health laws require waste left on your plate must be thrown away. However, other un-served restaurant food doesn’t have to go to a landfill, although much is. Big River Grille for example gives spent brewery grains to a farmer and sells leftover oil to a processor who recycles it for other uses thus avoiding the landfill. Find and frequent such places.
The key way each of us can help is to switch to a less carbon intensive diet. Your carbon “foodprint” can make more food available for others helping meet a growing population’s hunger. Beef and lamb cause by far the highest emissions because of methane farts, but also due to energy intensity, water required, and waste produced in raising and processing. See shrinkthatfootprint.com for more information.
There are further actions you can do for money saving and obesity control in addition to lightening up on meat consumption. Consume any perishables in timely fashion before they are inedible. Eat what you buy. Serve on smaller plates. Store food properly. Freeze food to avoid spoiling. Use leftovers for compost, stock, soups, stews, or casseroles. Buy locally grown food avoiding processing waste. When at a restaurant, order just an amount you can (or should) eat. Bring uneaten food home in a ‘doggie bag’ (use your own container to avoid non-recyclable containers that restaurants supply).
Like your mama said, eat your vegetables and waste not want not. During this holiday season you and the environment will be healthier for it. Happy Thanksgiving!
Impressive News: Chattanooga now has the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute, a research center unique to the Southeast. Located on the Baylor School campus along the river, the sustainably built center features research morphology and genetic laboratories, propagation tanks, and teaching spaces meant to restore and safeguard freshwater species and train future conservation leaders.
Sandra Kurtz is an environmental community activist and is presently working through the Urban Century Institute. You can visit her website to learn more at enviroedu.net
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.chattanoogapulse.com ’
