Leftover rotis or rice, a half-eaten sandwich or the crust of the pizza, a forgotten piece of cake or stale cheese, from wilted spinach to expired milk or pickles, excess sambhar delivered with the breakfast ordered, extra food left over after a party, an ugly looking tomato or a blemished vegetable or fruit, an extremely salty chutney or simply, a recipe gone wrong — all such perished food or leftovers often find their way to the bin, creating a huge amount of food waste from households.
But what’s the big deal in that, one may wonder.
Why food waste matters
According to the United Nations Environment Programme’s Food Waste Index Report 2021, 68.7 million tonnes of food is wasted annually in Indian homes. And that amounts to about 50 kg per person, based on existing data and extrapolation to other countries. Our per capita generation is low, but the total quantity is high due to the population,” says Shibu KN, Organics and Climate Campaigner, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives.
Read more: Mumbai’s no.1 source of trash: Food waste
Growing, processing, packaging and transporting food all have significant impact on climate change, but throwing away food adds extra burden to our waste management system and compounds the problems of food insecurity. It also emits greenhouse gases and is a major contributor to pollution.
We may think it is okay to discard an overripe banana or a mango, as it will decompose. But with improper waste management systems, most of these items are destined for the landfill, where they will rot, releasing methane. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), states that “If food loss and waste were a country, it would be the third biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions”.
This month, we observe World Food Day ( October 16), and the theme is “Right to foods for a better life and a better future”. And this is only possible if we stop wasting food. As Carlo Petrini, the founder of the Slow Food International movement, said, “There is food for everyone on the planet, but not everyone eats”.
Read more: A Bengaluru resident’s journey from food waste clean up to environmental activism
What do we mean by food waste?
“The term food waste is a contradiction because ‘food’ is a precious resource needed to survive and ‘waste implies a discard of no value”, says Odette Katrak, Cofounder, Beautiful Bharat.
The Food Waste Index, defines “food waste” as any substance — either processed, semi-processed or raw — that is intended for human consumption. “Food” includes drink, and any substance that has been used in the manufacture, preparation or treatment of food. Therefore, food waste includes both “edible parts” i.e., the parts of food that were intended for human consumption, and “inedible parts” which include components associated with a food but not intended to be consumed by humans. Examples of inedible parts associated with food could include bones, rinds and pits/stones.
How can households reduce food waste?
To minimise food waste generated at home, it is important to look at various different elements — right from shopping, storing food, food preparation, serving food and dealing with food waste, including leftovers.
Plan and purchase
“Buy what you need and buy to the extent you can eat”, says G Nagaraj, Plograja, the Cupman. Poor planning leads to increased frequency of shopping, and increases the risk of wastage. Discounts offered by ecommerce companies also create an illusion, incentivising more buying and therein lies further risk of food waste.
It is important to avoid impulse buying and stick to a schedule for a week,” says Marwan Abubaker, Cofounder, Hasiru Dala Innovations. “Before buying, first take stock of what is already there in your refrigerator or your kitchen cabinet. There is no point buying vegetables, for example, if you know that you are going to be travelling for a week”.
Store it right
A significant amount of food is wasted due to poor storage and preference for fresh produce. Early ripening and rotting are common reasons for food to be thrown out, and so it is important to understand what needs to go in the fridge, what can be left out at room temperature and when to move certain items to the fridge after they have ripened.
The three important considerations are “temperature, ethylene, and airflow”. Items such as onions, potatoes, tomatoes and garlic should be stored in your pantry at room temperature. Do not wash berries or grapes till you are about to eat them, as moisture can encourage mould growth. Some items like apples and bananas release ethylene gas and it is important to store them separately. Leafy greens tend to wilt easily. Savita Hiremath, Founder, Endlessly Green, put out a post on how to store greens in the fridge without using plastic mesh pouches.
“I follow the first in, first out methodology, when I store cooked food in the fridge. And I use clear containers, with date labels, so that I know what is there.”
— Odette Katrak, Cofounder, Beautiful Bharat
Failing to read the labels on how to store a food item is one of the common mistakes people make. If the label suggests storing it in an airtight container, it is important to follow the instructions; no one wants soggy biscuits or stale snacks. If using the original package, then make sure you squeeze out all the excess air, and close the bag with a rubber band or clip.
Distinguish between ‘Best before’ and ‘Use by’
It is also important to understand the difference between the ‘Best before’ date and the ‘Expiry/Use by’ date.
The Food Safety and Standards (Labelling & Display) Regulations 2020, defines “Best before date” as the date which signifies the end of the period under any stated storage conditions during which the food product shall remain fully marketable and shall retain any specific qualities for which tacit or express claims have been made. Beyond that date, the food may still be perfectly safe to consume, though, its quality may have diminished.
In contrast, “Use by” or “expiry” refers to the date, which signifies the end of the estimated period under any stated storage conditions, after which the product may not remain safe and the food product probably will not have the quality of safety attributes normally expected by the consumers. After expiry, the food shall not be sold or distributed for human consumption;
Prepare it the right way
At this stage, food waste is often created due to overcooking or burning, cooking large quantities, and overserving food on the plate.
The No Waste Kitchen Cookbook by Arina Suchde will help you rediscover the idea of conscious cooking. It has 75 interesting recipes for leftover food — use of skins and seeds such as carrot peel for pasta sauce or pea pod soup or watermelon rind; use of stalk and stems for raita, pasta or hummus. It also suggests optimal ways to use food past their ‘best-before’ date such as mushrooms, overripe bananas, or even extra mint or coriander leaves and more.
Another interesting Instagram account, creative explained by Armen Adamjan , shows how to use inedible food — components associated with a food that are not intended to be consumed by humans. For example, how to use banana peels to make banana tea or how to upcycle chicken bones for plants, or use mango seed to make mango butter.
Keep our traditions alive
We know that preservation of food has been practised for centuries, and is an essential aspect of Indian cuisine, from smoking and drying to dry salting, pickling and fermenting; these are other ways to extend the life of the food.
“Throughout Asia, especially in India we have a cultural practice of preserving food which is also related to the concept of respect for food. The traditional knowledge and practices in this part of the world actually save food from getting wasted”, says Shibu KN.
Shibu also points out that rural economies, which are bound by strong personal and societal connections and relations, have an efficient mechanism to prevent food waste. The urban economy is more dominated by impulsive consumerism and commercial relations, which are inefficient and weak, leading to wastage of food.
In rural Asia, excess consumable food is first shared with others, which is a sign of a robust and well-connected society. At the second level, surplus food, crops or catch are processed through sun drying, pickling, fermenting etc for prolonged human consumption. And at the third level the leftovers become feed for animals — whether it is for one’s own animals or animals belonging to others or even street animals.
Only a minimal part of food waste, therefore, ends up in waste dumps, which is not what we can always say for more modernised urban areas.