Posted inNutrition

Save your carrots, save the world!

October 9, 2021
Save your carrots, save the world!

By Felicity Morgan, Diploma of Health Science student 2021

The conversation around climate change isn’t urgent enough. The latest IPCC reports a 1.5C of warming by 2030 (1) causing ‘widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere’. (1) We need to act now.

So why talk about food waste? What does throwing away some sad forgotten carrots got to do with it?

Because currently, we waste 1/3rd of the world’s food. (2) Land, cleared by deforestation, (3) larger than china will grow food that just ends up binned. (3) When food decomposes it produces methane, which is 120 times more harmful than CO2. (4) And that’s not all. That third of wasted food? A quarter of that could feed the worlds hungry, (5) and half this waste is coming from our own homes. (3) This alone should be enough to make you run to the bin and fish out those sad carrots.

Need more convincing? What are the benefits?

You see, they aren’t just carrots; they’re also a product of our precious resources. Throwing them away means throwing everything that went into growing them – 28% of land, nutrients, 25% of agricultural water (3) – away too. By reducing our food waste, we reduce the demand, slowing climate change and begin to gain back resources we can’t afford to lose. And we don’t just over demand, we over consume as well. Obesity levels, caused by excess energy, are a record high, (6) and diet related diseases (like T2DM) cost the economy over $8.6Billion. (6) If we brought our energy intake down, reducing consumption overall, we would see the health of our community improve, allowing this money to be directed elsewhere. (6) If we valued our food and where it came from instead of throwing excess away, we could see it given to families in need.

If it’s so simple, why is it so hard?

It’s easy to understand, look around you! In our obesogenic environment, (7) with fast food on every corner and tantalizing marketing campaigns, there’s nothing screaming ‘moderation’ ‘whole foods’ or ‘value your farmers’.  Education is lacking and people no longer relate to where food comes from. (7) When confronted with these figures we can feel hopeless, but successful programs and polices exist to help. The ADG advises us to eat within our energy requirements, to limit ultra-processed items and focus on whole foods. (8) There’s also incredible companies bridging the gap between those who have too much food and to those who don’t have enough. Sadly 13% of Australians (9) live in food poverty. Companies such as Ozharvest, LoveFoodHateWaste, and Second bite, rescue food from upstream production, the retailers and manufacturers, connecting them with charities. In 2020 Ozharvest alone managed to divert 7,792,763kg of food from landfill and delivered 27,701,761 meals to those who need it. (10) This is amazing work that we need to support!  

What about at Deakin?

Let’s not forget about us! The Deakin Food Charter is a fantastic policy across all campuses aiming to provide diverse choices whilst upholding 5 pillars – Healthy, informed, balanced, easy, and sustainable. (11) Menus are developed to minimise food waste. Kitchen facilities are available to heat up our leftovers instead of throwing them away. Various portion sizes are available so we can purchase what we need, rather than over consume or produce food waste. They’ve also implemented an organic waste stream that turns food scraps into compost diverting 864kg of waste PER WEEK that would have been sent to landfill. (12) These simple but effective changes create a huge impact. However, let’s not forget that we don’t just need company policies to make a difference. Half of food waste is produced at home, these institutions are doing their bit…

ARE YOU DOING YOURS?

Reference list:

  • Image: Vfma.org.au [Internet] Victorian farmers market association.

https://www.vfma.org.au/images/VFMA_Images/Products/Angelica%20Carrots_Wide.jpg

  1. MassonDelmotte V, P. Zhai, A. Pirani, et al. Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2021:Pg 5.
  2. FAO.org [Internet] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2021. http://www.fao.org/state-of-food-agriculture/en/
  3. Office of Assistant Director-General (Natural Resources Management and Environment Department) Impacts on Natural resources. Food Waste Footprint. 2013:6-36. http://www.fao.org/3/i3347e/i3347e.pdf
  4. unece.org [Internet] Dealing with waste 2021. https://unece.org/circular-economy/dealing-waste
  5. FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO. 2021. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021. Transforming food systems for food security, improved nutrition and affordable healthy diets for all. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb4474en
  6. Image: Livetribe.com [Internet] Live Tribe. http://www.livetribe.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/foodwastepic.jpg
  7. Image: Budapestbeacon.com [Internet] The Budapest Beacon. https://budapestbeacon.com/20000-hungarian-children-starving/
  8. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2017. A picture of overweight and obesity in Australia. Cat. no. PHE 216. Canberra: AIHW. doi:10.25816/5ebcbf95fa7e5
  9. Image: Pixabay.com [Internet] Bru-No. https://pixabay.com/users/bru-no-1161770/
  10. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2020. Overweight and obesity: an interactive insight. Cat. no. PHE 251. Canberra: AIHW. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/overweight-obesity/overweight-and-obesity-an-interactive-insight
  11. National Health and Medical Research Council 2013. Australian Dietary Guidelines Summary. Canberra: National Health and Medical Research Council. https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/The%20Guidelines/n55a_australian_dietary_guidelines_summary_131014_1.pdf
  12. Bowden M. Understanding food insecurity in Australia. CFCA 2020;NO. 55:2. https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/sites/default/files/publication-documents/2009_cfca_understanding_food_insecurity_in_australia.pdf
  13. Ozharvest.org [Internet] Ozharvest 2020 impact report. https://www.ozharvest.org/app/uploads/2021/01/OZH_ImpactReport-2020.pdf
  14. Image: Ozharvest.org [Internet] Ozharvest. https://www.ozharvest.org/sustainability/
  15. Food.deakin.edu.au [Internet] What is the Deakin University food charter 2021.  https://food.deakin.edu.au/food-charter/what-is-food-charter
  16. Deakin.edu.au [Internet] Deakin trial diverts tonnes of food waste from landfill 2017. https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/news-and-media-releases/articles/deakin-trial-diverts-tonnes-of-food-waste-from-landfill
Last updated on October 9, 2021