Fighting against food waste
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food fight with cardiff transition
Philip Booth from Ruscombe Green just sent me this article. Anything with the word ‘food fight’ sends tingles of horror down my spine; I can’t stand the idea of wasting good food, especially when there are people in the world who are starving.
However, this is a ‘variation on a theme’ and I think I can just about support the idea because it makes such a valid point. (I assume the canned goods weren’t thrown in their tins LOL!)
“Everyone knows that food fights are a waste of food. But on Saturday 24th April, Cardiff Transition East flipped the concept of a food fight on its head. At a secret location in the woods behind the Blackweir Tavern, 20 food-fighters went into battle using waste food from retailers around the city in Cardiff’s first ever Food Fight Against Food Waste.
Each year people in the UK throw away 8.3 million tonnes of edible food. If that food wasn’t wasted the carbon emissions saved would be the equivalent of taking 1 in 4 cars off the road. As well as household food waste, retailers and commercial operations bin a huge amount of food that is past its sell-by-date – but still perfectly edible. Organisations like Fare Share run fantastic schemes to ensure that some of this commercial food waste is collected and distributed to homeless shelters and hostels. But as members of Cardiff Transition East found out on Friday night when they went bin-raiding, there’s still plenty left over.
Doughnuts, canned goods, pastries, cakes, quiches, fruit and vegetables all made an appearance at the food fight, which was filmed by local Cardiff film makers Green Dragon. The Food Fight Against Food Waste was designed to be a light-hearted way of highlighting a serious problem, and was one of a series of events taking place as part of the Cardiff Food Chain month – a campaign designed to bring together people in Cardiff who care about the environmental impact of food and farming and improving the sustainability of the food chain …”
Read the rest of “Food fight against food waste” and let me know what you think in the comments below!
If you live in Cardiff and are interested in the transition movement, check out their Facebook Page and meet some like minded friends.
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Interesting article, however although supermarkets and food retailers still need to change their attitudes regarding ordering too much stock etc which leads to inevitable food waste.
I am seeing progress regarding how food retailers are dealing with their waste, some is sent to homeless shelters, however a large number are sending food waste for anerobic digestion.
Anaerobic digestion is a series of processes in which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen, used for industrial or domestic purposes to manage waste and/or to release energy.
Anaerobic digestion is widely used as a renewable energy source because the process produces a methane and carbon dioxide rich biogas suitable for energy production, helping to replace fossil fuels. The nutrient-rich digestate which is also produced can be used as fertilizer.
@Mark Thomson: Hello Mark, thanks for taking time to leave a comment. I’ve noticed the stories about some supermarkets supporting homeless charities (which I suggested 18 years ago when I was a checkout girl!) and I’m still looking into AD as an effective method (or not). Like you suggest, we need to get to the root of the problem, which is creating the waste in the first place. A supermarket would rather throw things away than admit to empty shelves.
Two weeks ago, I found a tub of supermarket marg/butter spread at the back of the fridge that had been repeatedly passed over in favour of a supposedly better brand bought on a BOGOF deal. The date was about the same as the one at the top of this article. DH wanted to throw it and convinced himself that it had a funny smell. Being an awkward cuss, I ignored him and it was used. No one dropped dead!!!
Although I’m pleased it didn’t cause any illness and didn’t go to waste, I have to wonder what on earth was in it to make it last so long 🙁
We need to think twice about grumbling when the shops run out of something fresh. Always having everything fresh means they are in danger of overstocking and creating waste. That would inconvenience you? Inconvenience YOU? The world is a lot larger than just you and waste is inconveniencing many/much more than just you! We need to be more flexible in our desires.
@Poppy: I wonder that too, poppy. It makes you wonder how ‘fresh’ many things are! But anyway, well done for doing this and you’ve just proven that we shouldn’t be slaves to the dates.
@Jane: Good point and eating seasonal, local produce has to be more healthy …