.: Food For Thought :.

Ever since I have been here in Aus, I have been more conscious then ever over food wastages.

The society I now live in, takes pride in having fresh items sold daily. Go to any bakery – they would say “Baked Fresh Daily”. Go to any fruits shop – and you just see the freshest and juiciest fruits on display.

But some may not be aware – that the amount of wastages – food and fruits that are being thrown away. I once observed the amount of bread I saw being binned at a local bakery, a whole bin full; and I thought – what a shame, imagine how many homeless or poor that this bread could feed.

The same for fruits and vegetables that have gone slightly bad, but still salvageable (even if you could only salvage half of it, it’s still better than binning the whole lot).

There are a few steps taken by Australian to overcome this food wastage problem, and I must say, I am very impressed with the measures taken to reduce food wastages and channeling it to the needy. It’s also the awareness that by not wasting food; it’s creating a sustainable place to live in.

OzHarvest - the first perishable food rescue organisation in Australia that collects quality excess food from commercial outlets and delivers it to charities channel.

Harris Farm Imperfect Picks - fruit & vegetables that might not look perfect from the outside, but are so inside. It reduces the amount of crops that currently never leave the farm gate simply because they are a bit ugly, and do not meet the visual specifications of some consumers and supermarkets. It helps take more of the farmer’s crops, helps reduce food wastage and consumers purchase this at a lower price. Win win for both sides.

I think it takes a lil effort for everyone to try to reduce food wastages – even small steps at home does help. Do not buy more than you plan to consume. Surplus cooked food – bring it for lunch the next day. Small little steps, makes heaps of a difference. One may say, oh, the food that I waste, that’s not gonna feed the hungry people in Africa. It’s doesn’t really matter. Does it?

“Let's imagine a pile of bananas, grown and produced in a developing country, transported all the way across the globe to a Western country just to be wasted because of some silly cosmetic reason. People in the very same developing country lack food. Imagine looking those hungry people in the eyes and telling them that the good bananas grown in their very own country are being thrown away just as fast they arrive in the Western world." (Source here)

Every lil thing we do count to create a more sustainable world for ourselves and the future generations.