Reducing produce waste

[Emma JC]

This is a very interesting article and it is so great to see that the issue of produce waste is being addressed!

This simple step can double the shelf life of fruits and vegetables

(CNN)One company is doubling the shelf-life of avocados, citrus and other produce by taking a chemical-free cue from nature.

Many of us have been instructed at one point in our lives to finish the food on our plate because people elsewhere are starving. But we don't always listen. In fact, an estimated 1.3 billion tons of food — or one-third of all food produced for human consumption — is wasted annually. One in in nine people worldwide go to bed on an empty stomach each night.
It was on a drive through verdant farmland in California that Apeel CEO James Rogers heard a story on the radio about global hunger. "According to the numbers, we were producing more than enough food to feed people," he recalled thinking.

The rest of the article is here....

Emma JC

 

[TofuRobot]

This is a very interesting article and it is so great to see that the issue of produce waste is being addressed!

This simple step can double the shelf life of fruits and vegetables

(CNN)One company is doubling the shelf-life of avocados, citrus and other produce by taking a chemical-free cue from nature.

Many of us have been instructed at one point in our lives to finish the food on our plate because people elsewhere are starving. But we don't always listen. In fact, an estimated 1.3 billion tons of food — or one-third of all food produced for human consumption — is wasted annually. One in in nine people worldwide go to bed on an empty stomach each night.
It was on a drive through verdant farmland in California that Apeel CEO James Rogers heard a story on the radio about global hunger. "According to the numbers, we were producing more than enough food to feed people," he recalled thinking.

The rest of the article is here....

Emma JC

Interesting idea, even if it does read as an ad for Apeel. I have never actually seen that brand...

 

[Lou]

This is good stuff. Of course, the issue gets column inches when a new product is being hyped.

Personally, I have a problem with food waste myself.

Like when I buy or make hummus. I have it every day till I'm sick of it. Then I don't buy it for a while. I'm not sure why but hummus seems to go bad on me. Same thing with blueberries, strawberries, and vegan cheese.

Bananas aren't a problem. the black ones get peeled and frozen.
And I've started a bag of frozen veggies for making broth.

In France, they have made food waste a crime. Not sure how it's going.

Of course, as food prices rise, more people will try to tackle this issue. But nobody wants to see food prices rise.

One interesting idea I saw being discussed (but not implemented) tackles food waste in some Third World countries. According to the presenter, when we send large amounts of food to a country that has had a disaster, lots of it rots or gets eaten by rats dockside cause the country can't move all the food quick enough. The spokesman said as much as half.

So this technique was suggested. You take a 50-Gallon Galvanized steel drum and completely fill it with food (rice or flour or whatever), and then weld it closed and then irradiate it. The inside of the drum is now free of bugs and bacteria. And does not contain much oxygen or moisture. The spokesman said that the food can remain like that for at least a year.

The problem was that no one wanted a nuclear facility built in their county. Can't really blame them. But the technology seemed pretty safe.

In some businesses, they use the term "low hanging fruit" to describe ways to make or save money that doesn't require much if any investment. Reducing food waste is literally "fruit laying on the ground".

 

[Emma JC]

Interesting idea, even if it does read as an ad for Apeel. I have never actually seen that brand...

I don't believe it is a brand that we as consumers would be aware of, it is for the producers and the retailers to use to reduce the decay process.

Emma JC