What comes to mind when you hear the term ‘food waste’? For many, it probably conjures up images of rotting rubbish – something we want to avoid. But what if we reframed how we view this issue?
I recently read an insightful article on The “Yucky” Problem of Food Waste by Sophie Attwood, Ph.D., which raised some excellent points that got me thinking. The sad reality is that most so-called ‘food waste’ is not actually waste at all. In fact, according to an EPA study on food waste in Ireland, a staggering 66% of all discarded food is still fit for human consumption.
For businesses in the food service industry, this challenge presents a tangible opportunity to reassess our thinking and practices around food waste.
Shifting Our Mindset
Firstly, to encourage meaningful change, we must stop thinking of surplus food as ‘waste’, bound for the rubbish bin. Instead, it should be rebranded as something still fit for use. More positive terminology like ‘surplus food’ and ‘repurposed meals’, for example, is the simplest way of altering perspectives, encouraging people to view food waste as a valuable resource, rather than something of no use.
Understanding the Impact of Food Waste
When it comes to addressing the challenge of food waste, the key focus is threefold: ethical, environmental and financial.
Ethical Responsibility
From an ethical standpoint, allowing edible food to go to waste is deeply problematic. This is because not only the food itself but also the time, labour, resources and care that went into producing it are wasted.
When we throw away edible surplus food, we send a message that the production effort is meaningless. As a society, we have a responsibility to make the most of what has been grown and prepared for our nourishment.
Environmental Effects
The environmental toll of food waste is immense. According to the WWF, wasted food accounts for approximately 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions, and much of the planet’s fresh water supply is also taken up to grow food that ultimately goes uneaten. Reducing this monumental drain on land, water, energy and other resources is key to decreasing our environmental footprint.
Cost Savings
If businesses take steps to reduce food waste for ethical and environmental reasons, cost savings will naturally follow. Enhancing protocols around inventory management, training staff on portion control, and enabling creative reuse of surplus ingredients can significantly boost profitability.
Educating Ourselves on Utilising Leftovers
Another critical piece of the puzzle is education, which needs to start in schools. The importance of reducing food waste should be incorporated into school curricula, equipping the next generation with the knowledge to understand food’s environmental impact.
In the food service industry, staff must be trained on methods for preserving and repurposing soon-to-expire items, as well as culinary skills like dehydrating, pickling and other preservation techniques to extend shelf life. Kitchen teams should be encouraged to think creatively about food waste, creating clever recipes to repurpose surplus ingredients into new dishes.
Measuring What Matters
“What’s measured is managed” – my favourite mantra certainly rings true when tackling food waste. Businesses need to consistently measure their current levels of overproduction, spoilage and disposal to establish a baseline. It’s only once the current situation is understood that food waste reduction targets and accountability measures can be implemented to drive meaningful change over time. Easy-to-use food waste software like DigiTally can simplify this daunting task by ensuring accurate stock-taking and more control over waste management.
Rethinking food waste from an ethical, environmental and cost perspective, while embracing tactics like creative menus and staff education, can turn this challenge into an opportunity. By fundamentally reframing our perceptions and practices, the food service industry can take the lead in minimising leftover food and its destructive impact. It starts by avoiding the negativity associated with ‘waste’ and giving surplus food the value and attention it deserves.
Want to discover how DigiTally can help you take charge of food waste? Book a free, no-obligation discovery call today!
