From Farm but not to Fork

Food waste everywhere

Thanks to my sister-in-law, I am getting back to this poor neglected blog. This summer I have been involved with the PowerPoint presentation on Food Waste that I mentioned in "Little Table, Set Yourself. What I have learned is so compelling that I want to share it with you.

Food waste in the world apparently amounts to ca. 40% of all the

food grown. Before getting into the causes of this appalling situation, let’s look at what it means. Some billion people in the world are undernourished; many of these are actually starving. Morally and practically, we cannot afford to waste food. This is particularly true when one considers that although there is enough food now to feed the world were it better distributed, this will not be the case in 40-50 years, with 2 billion more mouths to feed and a growing middle class that will demand more resource-intensive foodstuffs like meat.


Then there is the fact that it is not only food that is being wasted. Agriculture uses more than ¾ of all the fresh water used in the world, and there are the other inputs as well: fertilizer, fuel, packaging, storage etc. Farming emits carbon dioxide and landfills emit methane, two greenhouse gases that are contributing to global warming.

Even more appalling is the fact that the causes of this miserable situation in the developing countries and those in the developed world can hardly be more different. The developing countries can be said to lack: protection from the weather, decent transportation, infrastructure, good management. Those producing a cash crop lack a guaranteed wage to protect them from the vagaries of the world market.Contrast this plethora of needs with a summation of the causes in

the developed world: extravagant and wasteful lifestyle. The developed countries grow something like 4 times as much food as they need, believe it or not, and immediately one asks where it all goes? Rather little goes to food programs to feed the needy at home and abroad, the rest is flogged by the food industry on all fronts.  Overfilled grocery shelves, super-size packages, two-for-one offers, snack food available on every corner; all mean constant noshing and buying too much. Eating too much also, of course, with obesity becoming an international epidemic.


Then there is the demand for perfect produce, perfect in appearance only; the taste may be essentially like wet sawdust. A perfect carrot is not a crooked carrot, a perfect tomato is one that fits the packaging, rather than the other way around. Bread must be sold the day it is baked and the baker’s shelves must be filled with every type of bread until closing time – clearly a recipe for a lot of wasted bread.

Well known is the fact that portion sizes have gotten bigger over the years. Large is now essentially small, having been overtaken by extra-large and jumbo and supersize. Even dinner plates are larger than they were 40 years ago. Most dangerous perhaps are all-you-can-eat buffets in restaurants, where the eye is larger than the stomach and food is left on the plate.
A few more shocking statistics: In the US food waste is now 50% greater than it was in the ‘70s, food waste dwarfs other waste categories and eliminating food waste would be the equivalent in environmental protection of taking 25% cars off the road.

It is clear that a cultural sea change is necessary in the developed

world. “Stop wasting food!” applies to all of us consumers. We need to regard food with the enjoyment and respect it deserves, care more about taste than appearance and value quality over quantity.


A big step in the right direction has been taken by the large supermarket chain Intermarché in France. Imperfect produce is purchased from the farmer and sold as “inglorious vegetables and fruits” at a 30% discount in the shops. A hugely successful marketing campaign has featured posters with one imperfect fruit or veggie pictured on each and a description underneath. The “failed lemon” is one and others are, for example, the “disfigured eggplant” and my favorite, the “unfortunate clementine”. New shoppers are arriving in droves, a boon for the shop as well as the farmer who can sell the imperfect produce rather than throwing it away and of course the consumer, who benefits from the large discount.

Imagination plays a large part in reeducating spoiled consumers.

Some restaurants in such diverse countries as the UK, Saudi Arabia and Denmark are fining customers who do not finish everything on their plate! Mother’s admonition raised to a new level. Tesco plans to print food info on shopping bags. The media have gotten into the act with effective articles and TV programs.

Finally, it will be necessary to alter the subsidy structure in many countries. In the US, corn is subsidized and finds its way into a multitude of foodstuffs, many of them unhealthy. Corn gobbles up a great deal of fertilizer and water, and of course uses land that could be used for growing healthier vegetables or as grassland.

Hardly anything could be a more worthwhile challenge than reforming the food system. We all have a part to play – you too!