Tips and tricks on how to reduce your foodprint

With the holiday binging season just around the proverbial corner, you’d better watch out not only for added poundage but also for food wastage. With so much food on the table, there’s bound to be so much wasted food, too. Binge if you must, but heed this mouthful of good advice from environmentalists: Think. Eat. Save. Reduce your foodprint.

It is sad to note that while 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted globally every year, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), one in every seven people in the world goes to bed hungry and more than 20,000 children under the age of five die daily of hunger.  â€¨â€¨

In the Philippines, daily rice wastage alone is estimated at 9 grams (three tablespoons) per person, amounting to 3.3 kilos per year, as per the 2008 National Nutrition Survey by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute.

FAO points out, “If food is wasted, it means that all the resources and inputs used in the production of all the food are also lost. For example, it takes about 1,000 liters of water to produce one liter of milk and about 16,000 liters go into a cow’s food to make a hamburger. The resulting greenhouse gas emissions from the cows themselves, and throughout the food supply chain, all end up in vain when we waste food.”

Coming to the aid of Mother Earth are the EcoWaste Coalition’s green mamas, who have whipped up a list of tips and tricks that can be carried out at home or anywhere else where food is prepared and consumed.

Sharing their green thoughts are green mamas Lyn Ramos, Thess Belen, and Francia Encinas from Buklod Tao, a dynamic people’s organization based in San Mateo, Rizal; Velvet Roxas, a breastfeeding champion from Arugaan and mother of two; Chichi Tulao,  former president of the Zero Waste Recycling Movement of the Philippines Foundation with two children;  Tessa Oliva of the Environmental Studies Institute with three children and two grandchildren; Sonia Mendoza, chairperson of the Mother Earth Foundation; and Yhet Garcia, mother of two. 



Chichi Tulao also revealed her kitchen guide for a job well done: “Get ready, do, put away, clean up.” To which she adds her mantra: “Think, love, zero waste.” 

For this wise mama, nothing beats breast milk. “Unlike infant formula that creates lots of waste, a woman’s breast milk is perfectly zero waste,” asserts Velvet Roxas.

Here are more green tips from our green mamas for food waste prevention and reduction:

• Plan ahead. Check your refrigerator or cupboard before going to the palengke or supermarket and look for items that should be first finished up, create a menu plan, and prepare meals based on such plan. Think about proper “mix and match” to entice kids to eat and finish their meals.

• Make a list (and check it twice). Create a shopping list based on what you have planned to eat for the week, take this list to the market, stick to it and resist buying on impulse.



• Shop green. Take your own containers (a bucket, a cooler or Tupperware for fish and other wet goods; bayong or tote bag for fruits, vegetables, and other dry goods) when you go shopping to cut on packaging waste. Refuse plastic bags and excess packaging to reduce waste in dumpsites or landfills.  Have the fish cleaned or gutted at the point of purchase to reduce kitchen waste. Choose fresh, nutritious, and locally-produced fruits and vegetables over processed food items.  Picking those in season is both a budget-friendly and healthy option.  Go for organic foods, which are healthier and pesticide-free. 

Buy only what you need and in amounts that you will consume to avoid spoilage, as well as storage problems. Go for loose fruits and vegetables over prepackaged ones that often come with plastic cling wrap plus polystyrene packet, so you avoid buying extra quantities and garbage.



• Cook smart. Avoid preparing too much of easily spoiled food like spaghetti, pancit, and coconut-based dishes, which should be consumed after each meal serving, or the excess stored in the freezer to prevent spoilage. Strive for a balanced and healthy diet for the whole family, avoiding foods that are high in fat, salt, and sugar.
 Go for real food, not junk food, which is more expensive, wasteful, and associated with lifestyle preventable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and heart ailments. 
Use proper utensils for better cooking.  For example, use a ladle for a round frying pan, and a slotted turner for a flat one.



• Spoil not, waste not.

 Serve smaller portions, especially for kids, and only give more once they have cleared their plates. â€¨Use serving cutlery to keep excess food clean, which can be saved for the next meal.

 Share excess food with friends, neighbors, co-workers, and street dwellers before it spoils. Don’t just throw wilting fruits and vegetables.  Turn soft fruits into juices or smoothies, and wilted veggies into soup.



• Use up leftovers. Keep leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer and serve for next meals or snacks.  Be creative and utilize leftovers to cook healthy and tasty meals.  Leftover pork adobo can be turned into adobo flakes and used as sandwich fillings or as pizza toppings.  Leftover rice can be turned into tasty fried rice.  



• Store food properly.

 Keep a healthy refrigerator by setting the temperature right to prolong freshness and the shelf-life of stored items, which should be placed in proper containers and duly labeled.

 Place older items in your cupboard and refrigerator to the front and put the newer ones towards the back. Store unused cereals, grains, pasta, and other dry ingredients in air-tight containers.

 Check use-by dates to ensure you will consume the item before it goes out of date.



• Compost. Turn fruit and vegetable peelings and other biodegradable discards into compost, garden food to help nourish depleted soils.  Make a compost pit in your backyard or make your own compost container using bins, pots, tires, and other containers.

As the oft-repeated age-old saying goes, “Waste not, want not.”