Reduce food waste

- Do you have meetings with food at your workplace? Imagine this. You're starting the meeting with two bags of food and some beverages, and throwing one of the bags directly into the trash. That's essentially what we do every week. We waste a lot of food. Why is that a problem? Well, food comes from nature. And everything we eat has an impact on this magnificent planet that we share with all sorts of other living things. From how our food is grown, packaged and cooked, to where it's going and where it winds up. Our choices impact the natural habitat of many wild animals, the fresh water we share with them, and the global climate. For example, wasted food means that we waste all of the resources that go into agricultural production, including land, fertilizer, water and associated environmental problems like greenhouse gas emissions. So, let's think back to food at work. You might be surprised to learn that workplaces waste a lot of food. We waste food when we throw away leftovers from a catered meal, when we buy sweets for the whole office or we take clients and colleagues to lunch and we don't want to take our leftovers with us. So, what can we do to waste less food in our workplaces? Well, we can order plates of food that let people choose how much of certain foods they want to eat, instead of boxed lunches with predetermined serving sizes. When there are leftovers, keep a food storage container handy to make sure that the food doesn't go to waste. And remember to eat the leftovers. Before big events, connect with local organizations that accept donated food to ensure that hungry people are being fed, rather than filling up the landfill with perfectly good food. If your workplace has a cafeteria with trays, skip the trays. People who use cafeteria trays waste an average of 32% more food than those who carry food on an individual plate. Now that you're on a roll reducing food waste, it's important to note that not all food waste is created equal. When we waste meat and dairy products, we're also wasting all of the corn, soy, hay and other foods the animals ate during their lifetimes. So, if you have meat and salad greens in the fridge, try to prioritize eating or freezing the meat before it, and all of the resources that went into it, gets wasted. We can all work together towards solutions every day. By reducing food waste, we help save our land, water and energy upon which both people and wildlife depend. I invite you to take the next step on your sustainability journey by identifying at least one way you can reduce food waste in your workplace.