Food Statistics 2013

So where do they get this waste % figure from ? How do they gather the data ?
Now come to think of it my sister in law , who is German and likes to do everything by the book ,does discard food on the sell by date . When we pulled her up about this she asked well how do you know when the food is off ? That's called projectile vomitting I said . She could not see the funny side of that

 

No alcohol gets wasted in our house. I simply can't understand how it could, as it doesn't go off while the can or bottle is sealed, and once opened, its gone with the hour

This is slightly alarming. Does this mean that the animals we eat are chock full of sugar, aspartame, and E numbers?

d) Pure laziness. I suspect some people buy nice fresh food with the best intentions, but then realise its going to take a whopping 15 minutes out of their life to prepare it, and they will actually have to look for a knife and a chopping board which they know is there somewhere because someone bought them it as a house warming gift.

Its very plausible. I think gardeners (on here or not) have a certain mindset to be frugal and resourceful, so on here, the average might be less than 20%, but I know people who waste much more than that. In fact I have a young student friend who recently posted on Facebook about his freezer full of food that he was so proud of, until he realised it takes several hours to defrost stuff, so its just not convenient, and then once he's defrosted it, according to the packed it he can't re-freeze whatever he didn't use.

But above all, I think there is a major cultural change that has lead to a massive increase in food waste. When I was a kid, the main meal was a major family event. It featured at the very least all of our immediate family unit, plus my grandad. That was every day. Some days it would be a fair few more. Lets say you're doing a full dinner. Meat and veg and all the trimmings. If you're on your own for dinner, you're not going to cut a little bit of cabbage off, and half a carrot, and half a parsnip, roast a few slices of beef, etc etc. If you did, all those half used veg would been on a very limited timespan to be used up before going limp. If you're feeding an entire family, then between you all you'll most likely use many vegs in full, so no danger of chopped open veg going to waste.

 

Since the lads went to Uni, coupled with Mr "M"'s shifts, there are a good number of times that I only have myself to please when it comes to dinner. You are quite right on the one hand, I would only need two slices of beef, two roast potatoes, one Yorkshire pudding and a handful of vegetables. It is not economical to do that just for myself, but then I don't need to because: a cooked joint can be sliced/cubed and frozen (with or without gravy) as can roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings - vegetables cooked/raw can be used in soups/stocks/stir fry/curries/casseroles (casseroles constructed from defrosted cubed roast meat). I can take out a couple of slices of roast meat, couple of potatoes and a Yorkshire pudding and I'm well away! The only difference is, for me a roast meal is designed as a meal to be shared with others. But it works for when it is just Mr "M" and I too.

Did your student friend invest in ready meals or frozen raw food? Defrosted raw meat which is then cooked *can* be frozen. So, if your student friend bought a bag of say chicken thighs and defrosts a couple to make a meal and then has leftovers, those cooked leftovers can be frozen.

 

I think he bought loads of fresh stuff. You and I know its not that difficult, but we're talking about a lad who went straight from living with parents to sharing a house (ie more money than sense, enough to live off takeaways), and now he's finally got some proper independence, having bought a flat all of his own, he just hasn't had the experience. I did try to give him some tips, but sometimes I'm afraid you just have to let people learn from experience. He'll start to figure it out, and when he does, I'll give him little tips to help him find his way. Of course there is a chance that he will find himself in a well paid job, maybe settled down with a nice young lady who is also paid a good salary, all before he's had to learn these lessons, in which cases he'll be on takeaways again before he's learnt the ropes. I suspect this happens to a lot of younger folk, hence the crazy food waste stats.

 

... one more reason why I taught mine how to cook some basic nosh before they left our nest

 

And if you came to dinner ... you would get more than that!
*hands Shy Knee the tea towel*

 

Well in that case: have as many roasties as you like