Do you waste food? (4/20 Wen.)

[maggiewang]

Hi guys,

I am going to host the gathering of Apr.20 with topic food wasting.

Due to the length of the ariticle, I decided to re-organize it as below. However you can find the very original article on the following website.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/4446277.stm


If you want to bring a copy of article with you, I would recommand the article on the forum ( the original one is really long). Or simply read it through as most part of the articles are feedbacks from people who concoern the issue and provide personal solutions or opinoins.

Hope those experiences are helpful to all of you to discuss the topic.



Do you waste food?


A third of food grown for human consumption in the UK ends up in the rubbish bin, according to a survey.
Food industry and government statistics show that each adult wastes £420 of food a year.
Lord Haskins, the government's food and farming adviser, described the figures as outrageous and said: "We are very greedy when we go and shop. Our eyes are bigger than stomachs in homes and in restaurants."
The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received so far:

Sell-by dates are a major contributor to this problem of waste both in the supermarkets and the home. Buy-one-get-one-free and other cheap offers on food encourage customers to purchase more than they actually require resulting in much of the food going out of date before it can be consumed. It can be no coincidence that firms like Tesco have announced record profits whilst customers buy more and more surplus food which ends up in the bin. Furthermore is there a regulatory body checking the life expectancy of food products? I suspect that many sell-by dates have shortened over recent years adding to the problem.
John R Tucker, Middlesbrough


The law has a lot to do with waste. It is true that sell-by dates play their part in there being a high wastage of food. I currently work selling produce and it is absolutely surprising how much produce we have to throw away because of the sell by date. Nine times out of 10 the food is in perfect condition but because of the risk of fines we abide by the law.
Matthew Gillespie, Greenwich, London


Sell-by dates no doubt help retailers rotate stocks properly and prevent consumers eating dangerously old produce. But I can't help thinking it has all gone too far. Not so long ago, you would buy a pot of jam, store it in the larder at room temperature and keep it until it was all used up. Now every jar seems to carry the label 'refrigerate after opening and consume within six weeks'. Is this really necessary?
John, Rye, UK

I apply the "look and sniff" test. If food has been handled and stored properly, even when it is past its sell-by date, there should be no reason to throw it out unnecessarily. After all, most of our predecessors survived, even without fridges.
Brigitte, Bristol

I agree 100% with this report. Sell-by dates should be used as a guide, food does not just go off on the sell-by date. We existed for thousands of years without sell-by dates. People used their eyes and noses to tell whether food was edible and personally I still do. We are extremely wasteful in this country, we treat food like a bottomless pit, yet, as we do this, half the world starves to death. What ever happened to common sense?
Nigel Fletcher, UK

People are far too obsessed with sell-by dates. Food didn't used to have sell-by dates; what's wrong with people that they can't look at something or give it a sniff and see if it's off? A bit of common sense wouldn't go amiss. And as for leftovers - put them in a plastic tub and take them to work next day for lunch. Yum yum.
Kate, Cambridg


I try not to waste food. If something is past its sell-by date, then I'll still eat it, as long as it smells fine. The only thing I'm very wary of eating is meat, especially after the numerous scares we've had over the last ten years. I think waste can be reduced by educating people on how to cook using left-overs, and by teaching people to trust their senses with food, not the packet it came in. Also, stricter regulations must be applied to the food packing companies who make up the sell-by dates. There have been many scandals about cases where the dates have been made to show food is off when its not, so that people will buy more food sooner than they need to. Also, people should be encouraged to recycle their waste. In the case of food, a compost heap would relieve some of the pressure on our land-fill sites. Increased recycling should be promoted across the board, as our track record on this matter is appalling.
Margaret, Glasgow, Scotland

How much "fresh" food is thrown away by supermarkets? I was once in charge of the fresh meat department of a supermarket branch, and was told that I had to ensure the chillers were filled at all times. If the meat was not sold, and had to be eventually thrown away, no-one cared. The important thing to that store manager was that there was plenty of available food. I believe market forces control a lot of the wastage that occurs.
Ian Law, Huddersfield, England

I live alone, but like most people like a good bargain. Every supermarket tempts us with buy one get one free, type of deals. We are obviously going to get these as they are a "bargain" and often don't cost any or much more. The problem is that we have to eat them by the sell by date (same meal two or three days in a row), or freeze some of it (freezer gets full so we throw it out or eventually it just looks horrible). I know that it is our choice whether we take these offers, but, in essence its free food. Maybe at the point of sale we can offer to donate the food to be frozen and re-distributed to council run care homes or homeless shelters for example. Obviously the supermarket pays for this to happen, I think they can afford it, don't you?
Paul, Surrey


Well, we waste almost nothing. I come from Pakistan and in most of the Asian cultures; food is always precious and a rather sacred commodity. In fact, a mother and food comes in the same category and by the way, we believe heaven is in the footsteps of one's mother. Therefore, wasting food always gives a kind of sinful feeling and is usually out of question. We even make an effort to feed extra food to birds etc.
There could be another social and emotional background to Asian's reluctance to bin their food. Food is usually cooked by a close family member and is also symbolic of their love. I guess in UK people need more awareness, more appreciation in non-money terms. I feel close family cooperation; cooking and eating healthy meals together can all contribute to less wastage and more quality life.
Naeem Syed, Dundee, UK

When I go shopping, I only buy enough food for a day or two, when the food runs out, I do the same again. I find that by having less food in the house, it is more appreciated by the family. The problem with this society is that we indulge too much. This can partly be blamed on supermarkets who entice us to fill up our trolleys with multipacks and buy one get one free offers, but ultimately it is our greed which is governing us. My tip - before you go shopping, eat something so you are not hungry and allow your appetite to get the better of you!
Hamid, London, UK

When we first got married two years ago, we were buying a lot of food per week and ended up throwing an awful amount away. Now, we don't shop at the superstores anymore and just buy from local grocers as and when we need to. This means we save a lot of money, we don't throw anything away anymore, and products are used before the sell by date, however we're not averse to using something if it is a day or two after the date. In a supermarket, you see people with overfull large trolleys and wonder where they put it all. It isn't necessary to buy so much just for one week. I think people need to take a step back and relax when it comes to shopping; they can save a lot of money with a bit of planning and reduce waste by buying only what they really need!
Leila Jerman, Manchester, UK

It would help if food were also packaged in realistic single portions as well as family-sized packages. Those who only cook for themselves tend to find that they have to buy more than they are able to eat alone due to the way that supermarkets and producers package their products. The only alternative for these people is to buy ready-meals all the time.
Liz, Gloucestershire

One problem is the way food is packaged. I love carrots but we don't get through them very fast and they go off fairly quickly. I have found that it's cheaper to buy a 5 lb bag of 'value' (class II) carrots and throw away half of them, rather than buy the 2 lb of carrots I actually expect to use - because loose vegetables or smaller bags are class I and much more expensive. I can't afford to reduce my wastage!
Ruth, Bucks

It horrifies me when I go to stay with friends in the UK when I see how much food is thrown away. Living in a country where food isn't taken for granted and many people can only just afford to buy the very basics has made me so conscious of using up every scrap. I never throw away even a tablespoon of peas! I have a continuous soup pot going which means that I never use packet soup or stock cubes and have a constant supply of natural, delicious stock whenever I need it. It is just as quick to throw leftovers in a saucepan as it is to throw them in the bin.
Judy Youssef, Cairo, Egypt

The most significant problem with food wastage is our desire for good looking food. We need to change our attitudes and allow our taste buds dictate what we buy. Throwing away half eaten meals is actually a very good thing. For too long we have lived with the sounds of our parents warnings to clear our plates, people are starving and would eat that etc.. All it has done has caused nationwide obesity. We need to get back to the point of food. It has to taste good and feed us.
Graeme, Scotland

Seeing people throw perfectly good food away makes me very angry since, with a bit of thought and imagination, its amazing what you can create from what at first may appear as a limited range of leftover and store cupboard ingredients. Some of my favourite meals are those created with leftovers, a bit of imagination and an open mind.
Jason Field, Hove, East Sussex

I try to use up leftovers as much as possible. I put some in the compost bin, any meat my mums dogs have. I have been more careful with food wastage and rubbish recently, I have been trying to grow some of my own veggies. I have been using local farmers markets more; the veggies are not perfect but just as good. To reduce waste will be hard as people are used to waste and cannot be bothered to recycle or make up food with leftovers like was done in our parents' times. Supermarkets should offer smaller packs of their items: not every one wants huge amounts of stuff.
Av, Oxford


I never throw away food. I only buy what I know I will eat. Leftovers are either frozen, eaten for lunch the next day or given to my dog. You can tell if food has gone bad by the colour and the smell - sell-by dates are only to cover the retailers. Waste can be reduced by educating people better. I am appalled by some of my friends and the waste they produce. I don't understand why people throw money away because they can't be bothered, which is all this basically comes down to.
Anna, Guildford

I throw almost nothing away - and have never done otherwise. I think that it is despicable to throw out food when so many people around us are desperate for a proper meal. I have followed the BBC's cookery programmes with great interest over the years and have been thinking that a series of programmes about how to use leftovers would be a great idea.
Claire Butler, Brussels, Belgium

The real problem is that many people no longer actually cook real meals. The convenience culture has taken over from older habits of home cooking and thrift. Take-aways, eating out and microwave ready meals are more wasteful, as there's a tendency to buy too much in one go, and throw out what can't be eaten immediately. In our home we are fans of home cooking and slow food. Not only does it taste good, but the leftovers are great the next day. And it costs a lot less than convenience food. To my mind this is best way to avoid wasting so much food. All it takes is a little time and enthusiasm.
Chris, Edinburgh, Scotland

[maggiewang]

Session 1

Q1.How much food do you throw away? Do you pay attention to the sell-by date while you shopping in supermarkets and how much do you rely on that? Some people think unless food looks or smells rotten then sell-by date can often be ignored. What is your opinion on that? And what do you do with food passing its sell-by date?

Q2.The reason that so much food ends up with a bin is becasue we buy excessive food in the first place, often we see a bargain like "Buy-One-Get-One Free" which encouraging people to purchase more than they require, has this kind of bargain worked on you? How do you avoid buying things or food not necessary?


Break

Q3.As we are all aware, there still a big portion of world population is suffering from starvation and we are often educated to consider it as sinful to throw away food, do you feel guilty when you have to bin food?
How do you deal with leftovers?

Q4 There is a saying "Waste can be turn into Gold with proper recycling" , do you actively participate in recycling? Please share your experience.

時間：每週三晚上７點～９點
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[maggiewang]

rubbish 垃圾
consumption 消費量
outrageous不道德的;令人不能容忍的
sell-by date 賞味期限
contributor 貢獻者
Buy-one-get-free-one 買一送一
Out of date 過期
coincidence 巧合
life expectancy (基於統計的) 預測數量
fines 罰緩
abide by 遵守(規則、法令、約束)
rotate 循環
larder 貯藏室
predecessor 祖先
fridge 冰箱
starve to death 餓死
amiss 不適當
left-overs 剩飯剩菜
recycle 資源回收
compost heap 一堆混合物
appalling 糟得很的
wastage 廢物
bargain 特價
indulge 沉溺於
scrap剩餘飯菜
despicable 可鄙的

[Wayne]

謝謝Maggie提供的字彙．其中有部份未盡表達文中意思：

outrageous駭人聽聞的，讓人嚇一大跳的
life expectancy平均壽命
compost heap堆肥
scrap一小塊 (scraps剩餘飯菜)

Buy-one-get-free-one 買一送一
－－＞　buy-one-get-one-free

[David Chen]

There is some words with food.

sandwich 三明治
hamburger 漢堡
coke 可樂
milk tea 奶茶
hot 熱的
cold 冷的
juice 果汁
ham 火腿
egg 蛋
egg biscuit 蛋餅
toast 土司
bacon 培根肉
soy sauce 醬油
chili sauce 辣椒
straw 吸管
sweet soybean milk 甜豆漿
salty soybean milk 鹹豆漿
steamed bun 饅頭
stuffed steamed bun 包子
rice milk 米漿
orange juice 柳橙汁
bread 麵包
onion rings 洋蔥卷
soup 湯
iced drinks 冰
lukewarm 溫熱
fried egg 荷包蛋
jam 果醬
strawberry jam 草莓醬
orange marmalade 桔子醬
fresh milk 鮮奶
goat's milk 羊奶
fried shredded meat 肉鬆