Following Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, food is one of our most important needs with water, warmth and rest. It is quite incredible to think that over the years, our most basic needs can also be the ones we waste the most. We arrived at a comfort zone in our life where first needs are not anymore what we are careful about.

How do we waste food and water?

In developed countries, the main food waste percentage comes from a household with a total of 65% of waste. According to mycorena.com, the processing and manufacturing industry represent 30% of waste in the United Kingdom.

There are several processes in the waste of food and water. One that you are not capable of controlling and that is mainly created by factories all over the world.

• Food loss: This could be for different reason such as the product is not “pretty enough” is not the right size, is not the right weight. All those products are grown with a high amount of water which eventually goes to waste as the vegetables are not used and wasted. Most of the time if the products are not perfect and are rejected by the main supermarkets/ factories they do not even pay the farmers. You could debate that as the farmer did not sell his products to the factory well, he should not be paid. However, those farmers have a contract with those big supermarket and spend their year growing food and if it is not accepted and are not paid they are not able to survive the year.
• Pure waste: One other process of food waste done by big factories come from pre-prepared meals. First, this process food can be made with very questionable food. In 2012, in France, a beef meal was found to be made with horse meat. So first you never know whats those meals are made of, they also are mainly overpacked with non-recyclable plastic. 

Then there is the food we waste as consumers and which represent, as said previously around 65% of food waste. This is mainly an education issue. We were taught to put the food that was rotten or not good enough in the trash and that it will be thrown away… however as we know now nothing goes away, it has to go somewhere. Daily, Americans are wasting a total of 150000 tonnes each day which is so much that you cannot really realise. 150000 tonnes represent 1365 very large blue whales! 1 blue whale would be the same weight as around 40 African elephants. 

Nowadays with the rise in climate crisis and the importance of change in different industry, we know more and more about sustainability and the importance of improvement on our choices and habits to save the planet. Tackling food waste is an important part of saving our planet!

What is the difference between food waste and composting?

To be honest, the first time I was looking into food waste I wondered what was the difference between:

•  food waste: a lot of food is wasted and just put on landfill to rotten.
• composting: putting food in a bucket so it gets rotten.

So for me without the knowledge, I really did not see the difference nor the problem. But here is the difference:

• food waste on landfill: first you have to consider transportation, most of the landfill are so far from where you are so that had to the carbon footprint. Looking at how it is disposed of: where do you put your food? do you separate it from your plastic and the rest or do you put everything in the same trash? Like most people, you put everything together and when it is sent to landfill it is not separated. Everything is decomposing together leading to a really high creation of methane. Methane is an extremely dangerous gas and not only is dangerous for everyone around and for the environment but it also contaminates water and soil. This leads to sick people in villages around and non-usable soil for the future. 

• compost: compost is an art and you need to learn about it before just throwing all of your food into a container. Compost, compared to food waste reduce the production of Methane as it is only food and special material put together. You also use a lot of different worms to help decompose all the aliments. Actually, compost is like a fertiliser and helps the land to be higher in nutrients and minerals needed for plants to grow. This is why you can often buy compost at a garden centre. 

We are so happy to have had the chance to talk with Lucie from Lesswastevegan.

Composting is one of the best ways to reduce your impact from food waste. It’s something I’ve known about for a while, but have never felt confident enough to start. Like most things with living a more eco-friendly lifestyle, you just have to start somewhere! 

After talking to my friends and family about composting, I was very kindly gifted a composting caddy for Christmas. I thought I’d share my thoughts so far, and I’ll more than likely write another post in a few months with more about what I’ve learnt. 

Getting Started 

 One of the first steps is to find out what materials can actually be composted and what can’t.

 After a bit of research I’ve found the main things to compost are: 

• – Fruit and veggie scraps (before cooking with sauces/oils) 
• – Coffee grounds 
• – Teabags 
• – Shredded paper 
• – Trimmings from houseplants Things to avoid: 
• – Meat 
• – Dairy 
• – Fats/Oils 

How to make a compost bin?

1. Find a small container or bin with a lid, pop it on your countertop so you remember to put your scraps in. You’ll probably want to buy a plastic bin for outside of your home if you have an outdoor space, with holes in so some air can get to the compost. 
2. If you aren’t able to do this at home, research local compost collections or allotments in your area that you can drop your compost off to. 
3. Regularly add your food scraps with paper or leaves and stir the compost to make sure that everything can break down! 

There you have it – a bit of a summary to get you started with composting. The idea is to keep learning as you go and find what works for you. 

I’m just getting started myself so there might be more tips on the way!