Food Waste is Harming the Environment. Here's How You Can Help

by Mike Pollard January 23, 2020

All of us are trying to do our little bit for the environment. With the impact of global warming becoming more and more evident, it’s important that we all try and do whatever we can to help prevent it. The causes of global warming are many and have been well documented. In our own homes, food waste is one if the biggest issues. Did you know that 1/3 of the food produced globally ends up on a landfill? This means that while it’s not used, demand for fresh food is still high, meaning that more is produced, which only adds to the problem.

The Problems with Food Waste - Environmental

You might think that food waste isn’t harming the environment, after all, surely the biggest problem here is how much we pay for it all! While our pockets would be happier with food waste reduction, it’s wrong to say that it doesn’t harm the environment. Just because food rots, doesn’t mean it’s good for nature.

· It Emits Greenhouse Gases

If food waste were classed as a country, it would be the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases. As food sits in the landfill sites and rots, it produces huge quantities of methane gas. This is a gas that is 25 times more dangerous to our planet than carbon dioxide. The more food we throw out when that’s gone bad, the more methane gas is produced as a result. Animals, particularly cows, also produce a lot of methane. If we are throwing out meat on a regular basis, this then adds even more onto what was produced to get it into our refrigerator.

· It Uses a Lot of Water

When food is produced, it takes massive quantities of water to grow. Just think how much water a field of vegetables will consume. If you are throwing out fruit and vegetables because it’s gone bad in your fridge, then you are wasting another valuable resource of the earth. This is a great waste of freshwater that many parts of the world desperately need. Because we waste so much, demand is kept high, which then leads to further deforestation as land is cleared to grow even more food for us.

· It Uses a Lot of Energy

Just think of all the effort that goes into producing the food that we fill our fridges with, and then inevitably throw out at the end of the week. Millions of gallons of fuel are used by the machinery that work in agriculture and farming. Irrigation systems are also used, powered by electricity.

· Packaging

There is then the question of all of the plastic packaging that food is wrapped in. While this is a known problem, throwing food out means that there was no need for any of that packaging in the first place. If we can reduce our waste, we will reduce how much is produced, and therefore how much dangerous plastic end up in the landfill alongside our food.

The Problems with Food Waste – Human

Food waste isn’t just a problem for the environment, there is a very real human side to it as well. Not only do we all hate the idea of waste in general, but we have been conditioned to accept it due to the short shelf lives of items in our supermarkets.

· We Could Feed the World

1 in 9 people in the world are malnourished, but all of the 1 billion hungry people could be fed by just 1/3 of what the world throws out globally. Food waste is morally wrong. With so many people forced to go to food shelters to try and eat surely, we can do more to stop wasting what we have.

· Money Matters

In the US, home food waste adds up to a whopping $2,275 per year. For many families, wasting food is wasting money that they can’t afford. But when our fruit and vegetables goes bad so quickly, it can be difficult to prevent waste. This is especially a problem when so much food is cheaper when bought in bulk.

Can Food Waste be Solved?

There are many steps that you can take to solving the problem of food waste in your home. The first is to meal plan more effectively, so that you only have what you are going to use. Yet with such short shelf lives on our foodstuffs, even this can be difficult, particularly if you can’t get to the shops very often. This is where Keep Food Fresher Longer comes in. With our (THEIR) products, we (YOU) can extend the shelf life of your food, and prevent waste.

Food Fresh

Food Fresh works as a natural refrigeration dehumidifier. It is a (SPECIAL MIX OF MINERALS THAT RD FRESH HAS BEEN USING IN THE COMMERCIAL FOOD SERVICE INDUSTRY FOR MORE THAN A DECADE) OMIT [mixture of RD Fresh odor, moisture, and produce bags.] These are proven to increase the shelf life of food by 50% and prevent the cross contamination of food odors. Perfect for commercial refrigeration as well as at home in the main body of your refrigerator, it’s already being used by companies such as Aramark and PFG. As it helps with moisture, it means that your refrigerator is going to last longer without repairs, (Because dry air is easier to chill… which means less compressor starts and stops, and less run time for those compressors) . as dry air is easier to cool

Vegie Fresh

Walmart and Costco definitely don’t want you to know about Vegie Fresh. Why? Because it keeps the produce in your fridge fresh for up to twice as long, so you won’t be shopping as often! Ethylene gas is naturally produced by fruit and vegetables in order to ripen them. It then continues to be produced until they rot away. Vegie Fresh bags absorb the ethylene gas, keeping your food fresher longer.

With both Food Fresh and Vegie Fresh, there really can be an end to food waste. Not only will you be saving money, you’ll be helping the environment as well. So many (major food service) companies, such as Aramark, (Sodexo, Morrison, PFG and others already use (RD FRESH, the commercial version of )Food Fresh (and VegieFresh in some of their facilities) [omit… on their products], so why shouldn’t you? Contact us now to get more information on how you can get Food Fresh and Vegie Fresh delivered to your door.