Food Waste, Composting & Growing

My chosen topic for my animation will be about how much food is wasted into landfill and will encourage people to use waste food for composting and growing their own fruit and vegetables rather than tossing it out and buying crops that have been shipped from different countries.

Some facts about food waste

Almost 50% of the total amount of food thrown away in the UK comes from our homes. We throw away 7.2 million tonnes of food and drink from our homes every year in the UK, and more than half of this is food and drink we could have eaten.

Wasting this food costs the average household £480 a year, rising to £680 for a family with children, the equivalent of around £50 per month.

Environmental impact. If we all stop wasting food that could have been eaten, the benefit to the planet would be the equivalent of taking 1 in 5 cars off the road.

Why is it wasted? There are two main reasons why we throw out good food: we cook or prepare more than we can eat or we don't use it in time. The foods we waste the most are fresh vegetables and salad, drink, fresh fruits, and bakery items such as cake and bread. We throw away more food from our homes than packaging in the UK every year.

Between 2006, 2007 and 2010 food waste has reduce by around 13%, over 1 million tonnes, this amount of food would fill Wembley stadium.

Reducing food waste and composting

Not all food can be eaten unfortunately, there will always be peelings, bones, seeds, shells etc. The best way to recycle these waste foods is through composting!

Composting at home is an inexpensive, natural process that transforms your kitchen and garden waste into a valuable and nutrient rich food for your garden. Everything from vegetable and fruit peelings to teabags teabags, toilet roll tubes, cereal boxes and eggshells can be composted. Be careful not to compost cooked food, meat or fish though. Composting at home for one year can same global warming gases equivalent to all the CO2 your kettle produces annually, or your washing machine produces in three months.

What happens when you don't recycle or make use of your waste food?

When food waste and trash is sent to landfill, air cannot get to the organic waste. Therefore as the waste breaks down it creates a harmful greenhouse gas, methane, which damages the earth's atmosphere.

On the other hand if this same kind of waste is composted above ground at home, oxygen helps the waste to decompose aerobically which produces hardly any methane gas which is better for the planet. Plus you obtain free fertiliser for your garden and plants after about 9 to 12 months to keep them healthy and grow higher quality fruit and veg.

Here is an animated video about recycling food waste.

Growing your own fruit and veg

Growing your own fruit and vegetables is an environmentally friendly way to ensure a constant supply of fresh, healthy, natural and organic produce.

Organic foods means healthier produce and diet, free of harmful pesticides. When growing your own food using organic methods to control pests, you and your family know the fruits and vegetables that you're eating together are safe and free of chemicals that are harmful to both the environment and your health.

You are also avoiding produce grown abroad, where loose regulations of dangerous chemicals mean that produce exported to the UK could be treated with compounds that have been banned in the UK due to adverse health or environmental effects. You are also avoiding buying food that has been shipped from distant countries, reducing your food miles.

Organic goods can be quite expensive, especially for exotic fruits and veg. Growing your own is inexpensive and more convenient, as you don't have to waste your time searching for organic goods at your supermarket or look for a store that specialises in organic fruit and veg.

You can obtain seeds, seedlings and organic pest control and fertiliser products at reasonable prices, or even make your own organic fertiliser by composting kitchen waste as mentioned before.

Sources:

http://england.lovefoodhatewaste.com/node/2472

http://england.lovefoodhatewaste.com/content/food-waste-recycling-what-do-food-you-cant-eat

http://vimeo.com/14062859#

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e62n6b7_7iE

http://whosgreenaz.com/2011/02/01/grow-your-own-food-be-good-to-the-environment/