Happiness & Food WastePractices to increase your happiness and live more

sustainably

The Problem of Food Waste & Strategies You

Can Do To Fight It

About 40% of food in the U.S. is wasted each year.*

That’s around 35 million tons or 220lbs per person each year!**

*Gunders, D. (2012, August). Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food From Farm to Fork to Landfill. Retrieved March 2016, from Natural Resources Defense Council: https://www.nrdc.org/food/files/wasted-food-ip.pdf**EPA. (2016, February 23). Turning Food Waste into Energy at the Easte Bay Municipal Utility District. Retrieved April 13, 2016, from United States Environmental Protection Agency: https://www3.epa.gov/region9/waste/features/foodtoenergy/food-waste.html

The World Food Programme estimates that approximately 795 million people in the world

are food insecure*, yet roughly 1/3 of food produced for consumption is wasted.**

*WFP. (2016). Hunger Statistics. Retrieved March 2016, from World Food Programme: https://www.wfp.org/hunger/stats**Facts About Food Waste. (2015). Retrieved March 2016, from United Against Food Waste: http://unitedagainstfoodwaste.com/facts-about-food-waste.html

Food waste has serious impacts on…

our environment

how we value food

our connection to nature

Our Environment

Food waste threatens ecosystem health when farmers overproduce crops. This degrades soil and reduces environmental quality.

*Think Eat Save. (2013, June). Retrieved March 2016, from United Nations Environmental Programme: http://www.unep.org/wed/2013/quickfacts/

Food in a landfill creates methane – a green house gas 23 times more potent than C02.* This adds to the problem

of climate change

And the

portion size is

ever

increasing,

while the price

decreases

How We Value FoodIn the fast food industry, food is often seen as an on-the-go, cheap and plentiful commodity. In reality, most fast food has little nutritional value, is high in fat, and over processed.

With growing portions and lowering prices, how are all the resources that go into

growing food accounted for?

The answer is, they aren’t & this is

causing problems.

Currently, food is valued so low that some companies will waste edible blemished food in landfills rather than taking it to market.

In the US, an estimated 6 billion pounds of fresh produce is left in the fields to rot.*

*Gunders, D. (2012, August). Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food From Farm to Fork to Landfill. Retrieved March 2016, from Natural Resources Defense Council: https://www.nrdc.org/food/files/wasted-food-ip.pdf

We are experiencing a disconnect from our food system and its

complexities.*

We no longer associate food with the natural environment.

*Spector, R. (2002). Fully Integrated Food Systems: Regaining Connections Between Farmers and Consumers. Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture , p. 3.

Our Connection with Nature

This impacts our connection to nature and the

land.

It means we are losing sight of nature’s importance to our physical and mental health.

Reducing Food Waste Can Make You Happier.

Here are some simple food waste fighting strategies you can do and

their benefits.

Reducing food waste saves you money.

When you throw away food, you’re throwing away money.

When going to the store, make a list. This prevents impulse purchasing, so you only buy what you

need.

Making a list allows you to plan meals so you eat what’s in your fridge instead of dining at

restaurants.

Grocery Shopping

The truth about food date labels is that they are often just the manufacture’s best guess of when the product will be at its best.*

Use By, Sell By, Best Before

Don’t throw out food simply because it’s past the sell by date. Chances are, it is perfectly fine.

*Holas-Huggins, N. New survey reveals how labeling contributes to food waste. National Consumers League. Retrieved October, 2016 from http://www.nclnet.org/date_labeling_survey

Chart from U.C. Davis post harvest technology website: http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/

Storing food properly can help cut back on waste

Prepared food is generally good for at least four days.

Keep your fridge at 40° F.Keep your freezer at 0° F.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Germs/story?id=5560174&page=1

Get Cooking!

Use up the ingredients in your fridge instead of letting them

go to waste.

Cooking Makes You Happy

*February 6, 2012. “Which Actually Makes you Happier: Home-Cooked Healthy Meals, or Indulgent Meals Out?” Psychology Today. Retrieved October 2016 from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-science-willpower/201202/which-actually-makes-you-happier-home-cooked-healthy-meals-or

Cooking can relieve stress and bring you closer to the food you’re eating.*

Nourish Your Body

*Wolfson, J. November 17, 2014. Is cooking at home associated with better diet quality or weight-loss intention?. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Retrieved on October 2016 from https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-a-livable-future/news-room/News-Releases/2014/Study-Suggests-Home-Cooking-Main-Ingredient-in-Healthier-Diet.html

In fact one study found that, “When people cook most of their meals at home, they consume fewer carbohydrates,

less sugar and less fat than those who cook less or not at all – even if they are not trying to lose weight.”*

When you cook at home, often the meals are healthier.

Image from fix.com

The production of meat & dairy products uses an immense amount of resources and produces greenhouse gases.

When purchasing animal based products, only buy what you need so nothing goes to waste.

Make over-rip bananas into… Banana bread

Get creative with kitchen scraps

Use ripe produce in delicious new ways

More Delicious Ideas for Transforming Older Food Overripe fruit tastes

great in smoothies.

Try using stale cereal in a pie crust or as a

crumble topping.

Turn stale chips into breading or

casserole topping.

Use old bread to make croutons or

French Toast.

Try Gardening

Even just growing herbs!It’s good for your mental and physical health

You are better able to

understand the amount of

resources that go into growing

food…

& the complexities of the process.

Growing your own food truly shows you the value of it

Photo from The Food Revolution Network

Grow Food from Kitchen Scraps

Instead of throwing your kitchen scraps away, use them to grow food.

Using scraps, you can grow:

•Avocado•Green Onions•Potatoes•Ginger•Bok Choy•Carrots•And many more*

*For more information on growing food from scraps, visit https://foodrevolution.org/blog/reduce-food-waste-regrow-from-scraps/

Getting your hands in the soil and growing your own

food connects you with nature.

It also relieves stress and can be an invigorating

exercise.

It will increase your happiness and you will contribute to

our environment’s sustainability!

Stop Wasting Food

Over time, these simple strategies to fight food waste can have a big impact on the environment.

Not only can they reduce greenhouse gases, but they can also save natural resources and preserve the ecosystem.

Visit these sites to learn more about food waste and strategies to fight it.

http://www.thinkeatsave.org/index.php/top-tips-on-reducing-food-waste

http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/

https://www.epa.gov/recycle/reducing-wasted-food-homehttp://

www.endfoodwastenow.org/index.php/what-you-can-do

To work with Amy Bergley on your campus or your community on issues of sustainability, food waste and happiness contact abergley@asu.edu

more tools for happiness

happycounts.org