At this time of the year, there are lots of things we can do to make shopping and eating simpler, healthier, more enjoyable and more sustainable.
Yearly food waste in Australia is estimated at about 360 kg/person, or over 930 kg/household. It costs too – about $5.2 billion/year, including $1.1 billion of discarded fruit and vegetables.
Food wastage peaks at holiday times. Most people buy too much, eat and drink too much and also fill the garbage can to capacity. It’s a good time to take stock of our waste as well as our ‘waist’.
I try to choose my indulgences by quality rather than quantity – fresh raspberries, mangoes, home-made ice cream, a glass of good wine can all make my mouth water. The fact that the fruits and the wine are expensive and that it takes time to make my special ice cream restrict my indulgence but probably increase my pleasure in enjoying a true treat.
Whatever our personal food desires, careful choices for quantity and quality make good sense from an economical, health or environmental perspective.
It’s also important to store foods safely. Food that has gone ‘off’ is a total waste all round.
Most foods sitting on a buffet table at room temperature in the Australian summer will pose a hazard for later use, so make sure someone has the task of putting hot foods into the oven to stay hot (if second helpings are likely to be needed) and placing cold foods into the fridge as soon as everyone is served. After the meal, check the leftovers, work out what can be used over the next day or so and make use of the freezer for later use.
Among animal foods, some are better environmental buys than others. Depending on the area where animals are raised or caught, there are exceptions, but in general poultry, pigs and selected seafood create a lower carbon footprint than methane producing animals. If you really want beef or lamb, try to find meat from free range grass-fed animals rather than those from feedlots. If your butcher has no idea where the meat comes from, find another butcher. If animal welfare is an issue (and it is for me), I try to choose foods from organic farms.
For fruits and vegetables, choose those in season. That makes summer a happy time for Australians as we have berries, a range of stone fruits, mangoes, grapes, asparagus, avocadoes and sweet red capsicums. Locally grown vegetables are an obviously good choice, with the ultimate for taste and sustainability being those from your own backyard or a nearby farmer’s market.
Dr Rosemary Stanton is the author of The Choice Guide to Food published by CHOICE Books.
