by Stephen Mark Richardson

Created on: August 23, 2009   Last Updated: August 24, 2009

The UK government recently unveiled that people are wasting approximately 8 in food per week, which equates to 416 per year (Telegraph, July 2008).

Global food prices have significantly risen in recent years due to a combination of factors. These include poor harvests in a number of exporting countries; higher costs for energy, transport and fuel; and the demand to feed more people in a growing as well as aging population (The Independent, July 2008).

Globally, people contribute to the 4.1 tonnes of food wastage a year, which causes unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 18 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year (The Birmingham Post, July 2008). This wastage adds to the already mounting number of reasons why food prices continue to rise, and the environment continues to suffer.

With a number of national and global issues affecting everyone, people need to take action not only to combat food wastage, but also to protect the environment, and their finances. With living costs continually rising, cutting back on food wastage is one of a number of measures that can be individually addressed, with the ultimate aim of bringing costs down.

The following points address potential ways that you can cut down on food wastage, which will not only save you money, but will also enable you to take steps towards protecting an endangered environment.

Weekly Shopping

By making a shopping list and sticking to it, you will be less likely be tempted to buy unnecessary and luxury items. The amount of food people waste because they forget they have purchased it contributes to the issue of food waste and rising costs. This is due to the fact that if it is essential, you will more than likely use it. Alternatively, if it is something that you fancied purchasing through impulsive buying, you may well forget you have it stored in the cupboard, until its 'best-before' date has passed.

A further way to cut down on waste during your routine shop is to cut back on 'multi-buys' and 'buy-one-get-one free' options. The fact of the matter is that although you will ideally be gaining extra quantity, it is extra quantity that you don't need. Not only will taking a more proactive approach to shopping help cause less food wastage, it will also help to save you money, bring rising living costs down, and help the environment.

Serving and Cooking Suggestions

Once a proactive approach to shopping has been taken, the next step is to use/cook less food within the home. The way you shop will in turn assist with this, as the less food you buy, the less food you will prepare/cook. So many people prepare/cook food only to leave excess that is thrown away. Why not consider cooking, and refrigerating the left remainders to eat at a later time. Not only will this assist with wasting less food, it will also save you money, and protect an environment that produces unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions as a result.

With supermarkets and other shopping outlets offering bulk purchasing, it's easy to succumb to the idea of gaining a deal from stocking up. However in reality, although you may be gaining extra quantity, you are still paying more than you would be if you purchased single or essential items.

The key to minimising food waste is that if you buy less, or only buy what you actually need, you will in turn use less food within your household, and waste less amounts of food. In a society that struggles with keeping its costs down, people find that by taking small steps such as these, it will slow down such a rapid paced increase, with the ultimate aim of decreasing living costs.

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