Saturday 29 September 2012

TED: The Global Food Waste Scandal - Tristram Stuart

Love, love, LOVE this TED talk



I have a huge thing against food waste. I've got to admit that I probably did it a lot as a child when I just didn't want to eat something, but now I regularly ignore sell-by-dates, scout out the 'reduced' items in supermarkets and even find myself peeling mould off bread that is otherwise perfectly fine to eat. I don't care if this makes you cringe; I despise throwing away food.

Tristram Stuart (love his name!) makes a compelling argument for reducing global food waste and it's disgusting how much is thrown away simply because it doesn't meet aesthetic targets. Living in a student house, I've seen my housemates throw a shocking amount of cooked and uncooked food into the bin. This could very simply be solved by planning meals. As a student, my budget is tight and I plan my meals with a strict hand. I know what I'll be eating on a weekly basis and I know what I'm going to need in order to cook it; I have the feeling that I'm in the 1% (if that) on this front. I'm not saying that all students are careless and spendthrifts, but I'm of the opinion that too many are just reckless about what they buy and what they eat. I put it down to a combination of how you've been brought up as well as the freedom of being able to eat what you want, but that's just my humble opinion. Feel free to rip my less-than-developed argument to pieces.

I have the feeling that a project like Tristram's Feed the 5000 would make a great SIFE project, but social projects aren't my forte; but it's definitely something to check out. I've already ascertained that my university library has his book and you bet it's going on my immediate TBR list.

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