Some recent data puts food waste in countries such as the US, Canada, and Australia as around 40%.
Figures are being quoted for the US, but the survey from which they are using the statistics also included some other countries including Australia - it is not just the US.
This is an awful indictment on western society. Especially when the areas of waste are mostly in the home and the restaurant areas. It is also a waste of an awful lot of the money we have spent on food.
It also brings into question the use of "use by" and " best by" systems in relation to food that are now slavishly adhered too, rather than being used as a guide. Is it fear of legal issues or just plain lack of common sense that is the issue?
There is a great article written on the subject and is worth reading and pondering on the naivety of consumers over these issues.
The link is here:
http://www.nrdc.org/food/wasted-food.asp
How many times have you eaten leftovers for lunch or as another quick meal a few evenings later, as well as drunk milk on a date past that on the bottle, or used other products near or past the use by date. Sure, do not use anything that might be unusable - with a quick smell or appearance check a good guide - and better than a formal printed date. Many charities use packaged foods that are past the "date" to provide excellent meals to the less well off.
Are we so stupid that we cannot be sensible enough to also be practical in using food, purchased with our money, sensibly. Treat these dates as a guide - and remember, many supermarkets discount food items getting close to the "use by"date - so a bit of careful shopping can be $$ saving.
There are some ideas in the links shown, so can you act somewhat wiser?
More details in the full article which also targets the supermarkets.
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