Reduction of Food Waste at Home

There are times when food was cooked in large quantities more than you require. And there are times we buy food from restaurants when we don’t have time to cook. Food wastage happens and you have uneaten leftovers that cause unneeded stress on the environment. Many times, we don’t realize the value of food. Think about the people who do not have enough food to eat every day. Instead of thinking about what could have been done, ask yourself how can we prevent wastage of food or how to reduce food waste? Here is an article to influence you by making simple decisions in life.

From households to restaurants and institutions, food wastage happens at all levels. According to the Food Waste Index Report 2021, a staggering 50 kg of food is wasted per person every year in Indian homes. This excess food ends up in landfills. Have you ever thought about needy or poor people who go hungry every day? You must do something to prevent wastage of food.

Do you know what causes food waste?

There are various causes but food waste occurs when you fail to plan your meals properly and store food till it spoils or goes past the expiry date. As a result, edible food is discarded by consumers and there is a huge impact of food waste on the environment.  What food waste has to do with the environment? Well, food waste that ends up in landfills creates a large amount of methane. Methane is a more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2. The excess amount of methane absorbs infrared radiation and heats the earth’s atmosphere, causing global warming and climate change.

How to avoid wastage of food?

How can we, as individuals, bring about change in tackling food waste? Simple actions have a great impact on life. With the Covid-19 pandemic came along in 2020, many of us are concerned about how to stop food waste. No wonder we started to understand the importance of making wise food choices. Are you ready to take that simple decision in your life so that there is a reduction in food waste? Your decision starts right at home by following these simple and wise tips on how to reduce food waste.

There are things to plan, check and avoid in order to reduce food waste at home.

• Plan your meals for the week and buy only what is needed.
• Check your fridge and cupboards before you make that shopping list in order to avoid buying doubles.
• Avoid buying too much and you can take a couple of shorter trips to the grocery store each week rather than one longer trip. Thereby, you can prevent yourself from buying too much food.
• Avoid over-buying. There are sales on products and promotions that influence people to buy at retail stores. If those products do not fit into your regular meal plan, it is good to avoid such products.
• Store foods properly. From fruits to vegetables, these perishable items need to be stored properly to avoid spoilage.
• Do not over-prepare your food.

Simple things are often being neglected in our daily lives. If you are careful enough in carrying out these simple yet wise tips, you can easily make a shift to an eco-friendly, zero-waste lifestyle.