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Christopher Gabrielle from WDAY
The lovely Christopher Gabrielle invited me onto his show on WDAY.com this week. I was there to share our story and to promote reducing food waste just in time for National Zero Waste Week.
The more I learn about all types of waste in the UK, the more I realise it is the same in many countries of the developed world. Our insatiable thirst for consumption means we throw a lot of stuff away.
Let’s face it; we’re encouraged to be wasteful in so many ways such as built in obsolescence (computers), Buy One Get One Free offers on perishable items in supermarkets, items that are cheaper to buy new than repair (mobile phones), items where replaceable parts are more expensive than a new gadget (ink cartridges for some inkjet printers) and the constant drive towards ‘improving’ our lives through the acquisition of ‘stuff’ via aggressive marketing and advertising campaigns.
Christopher really understands the food waste problem as he grew up in the restaurant trade. We chatted about the practicalities of diverting some of our potential food waste to homeless shelters in the UK (would love to know if any of you are able to do this, as I only know about supermarket schemes) along with raising our awareness of the food waste issue.
Christopher’s wife, Wendy, runs the popular site My Green Side where she educates others on how to live thoughtfully and responsibly for our children, ourselves and our planet. As she says “If we don’t try harder to live better, we will all languish in a pool of empty plastic bottles.”
Wendy is a saught after author who has written for Twilight Earth and Examiner. On Mashable she was voted one of the 75+ Environmentalists to Follow on Twitter You can also find Wendy on The Christopher Gabriel Program every Wednesday where she discusses simple tips for green living and highlights a different green site each week.
Have a listen of my interview here: Christopher Gabrielle programme.
Don’t forget – there are prizes to be won next week. Sign up on our zero waste week page, pledge to reduce your food waste then come back during the week and tell us how you are getting on. One winner will get a £50 voucher from LUSH and another will get a £50 from Natural Collection.
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Well done, Rae. That was a great interview. I hope it’s made some of the listeners ‘across the pond’ think a bit more about their rubbish.
Hi Rae, I haven’t heard the interview just yet, but wanted to share the links for Fareshare, a food charity, who were featured in the BBC programme ‘ The Great British Waste Menu’.
http://www.fareshare.org.uk/about-us.php
http://www.fareshare.org.uk/news.php
Will catch up with your interview over the weekend.
@Karin: Thanks Karin, Apparently Christopher had some favourable emails after the show and from what I have gleaned over the past couple of years, the US folk really do care and want to make a big difference.
@Kirsty: Thanks Kirsty. I think some of the work Fareshares does is great. I’m wondering if there is a similar scheme were regular householders can donate food.