Trees There is a 'bonus'. With prices like that we make sure none is wasted. I'm not suggesting that if plentiful due to cheaper prices we should excuse waste, but as consumers, some food is better appreciated when it's not readily afforded.
From: foodwise.com.au Wilted lettuce leaves, milk past its use-by date, last night's leftovers - who isn't guilty of tossing these types of things in the rubbish every now and then? While it might not feel like much at the time, collectively, Australians are wasting $5.2 billion worth of food each year. This concerning finding was revealed in an Australia Institute survey into the amount of food Australians throw away uneaten and reasons why, including their behaviour around meal planning, shopping and food waste. The survey found that Australians are throwing out $1.1 billion worth of fresh fruit and vegetables every year. A similar amount is spent on restaurant and takeaway food that is ordered and then not eaten. A further $872.5 million worth of meat and fish is thrown away along with bread, pasta and rice valued at $570.7 million and another $512.3 million in dairy products. As a nation we're throwing away more food than the amount we spend on digital equipment such as flat screen TVs. Queenslanders are the worst (or the most honest) performers, throwing out $678 per household per year, 10% above the Australian average. New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory are also wasting more than average. At the other end of the scale, South Australian households are throwing away the least amount of food, around $517 worth annually, which is 16% below the Australian average. Victorian and Tasmanian households are also wasting less than the Australian average. The environmental consequences of such waste are huge. Scarce water resources are wasted and unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions are generated through wasted production and decomposition in landfills. The methane that decomposing food produces has a greenhouse gas equivalency twenty-five times higher than carbon dioxide. The benefits of reducing food waste for the environment seem obvious, however it is the household budget that is seen as the biggest incentive for doing so. According to respondents to the food waste survey, it is the potential financial savings that are more likely to motivate them to reduce their waste. Environmental reasons were identified as a motivating factor at only half the rate of the potential personal or financial savings to be gained. One reason for the low priority attributed to environmental motivators may be the seemingly ambivalent concern Australians hold about food waste as an important issue. The majority of households reported being only somewhat concerned about their household's level of wasted food. The challenge for government policy aimed at reducing levels of household food waste lies in the contradictory behaviour of Australians. For example, householders who believe that only buying food that will be eaten is the best way to reduce food waste indicated that they usually plan ahead, take a list and only buy what is on the list when grocery shopping. However, the same people also agreed that they often buy things on the spur of the moment. In order to reduce food waste, Australians need to be reminded about how much food is being thrown away uneaten and how small behavioural changes when buying and using food, including those promoted by the Do Something FoodWise campaign, who The Australia Institute has partnered with, have the potential to achieve large reductions in the amount of food waste in Australia. Written by David Baker David Baker is a Research Fellow at The Australia Institute and is the report co-author of What a waste - an analysis of household expenditure on food, which is available at www.tai.org.au
$5 billion! That's alot of waste. Could pump $1b into mental services, $2b into hospitals and $2b into whatever.....each year on top of current spending!
