FoodWise |
FoodWise is a national campaign thats organised by the action group Do Something!. The aim of our campaign is to get Australians to reduce the environmental impact of their food consumption. In short, we want people to become FoodWise.
Like most Australians, we love our food. Actually adore is a better word. Were passionate about it. But were not so keen on the amount of food that we throw out. Indeed, our initiative began after our research found that Australians waste an estimated 4 milion tonnes of food every year.
Initially, the FoodWise campaign focused on getting people to reduce their food waste. Howe'ver, our recent research shows that many people are unaware of the paddock to plate environmental impact of food. In order to change that situation, we've expanded our campaign to help people reduce this impact. Simply put, we want Australians to become more educated and informed about the food that they buy or grow.
As Kylie Kwong points out in her FoodWise viewpoint, there seems to be a real disconnect between the food we buy and the impact that it has on the environment when we throw it away. People no longer get that when you throw out food, youre also throwing out all of the resources, fuel and energy that were used to get that food to your plate. This lack of knowledge about the wider impact of food, is one of the reasons why we waste so much of it.
Our campaign partners and content contributors include The Australia Institute, The Food Safety Information Council, Greenpeace, Growcom, Biological Farmers of Australia and the major food charities OzHarvest, Fareshare, Second Bite and Foodbank. Its a formidable alliance to tackle a formidable problem.
All too often, were buying food that is out of season and grown far away from where we live. Many of us have forgotten how to compost or grow food at home. We buy processed foods, even though fresh food is better for us and can save us money. On the issue of food safety, many of us lack even the most basic knowledge. And when it comes to buying, storing, freezing, refrigerating and reusing our food, we've lost many of the basic skills that our Grandparents had - skills that helped them to make the very most of the food that they grew or bought.
The 4 million tonnes of food waste Australians are throwing out every year is equivalent to 178kg of food waste for each Australian. Weve now reached the point where we are spending $7.8 billion a year on food that we buy but dont eat.
Thats a significant proportion of the food we take home. In a comparable Western economy, the UK, the governments Waste Resources Action programme (WRAP) estimates that a 1/3 of the food bought is wasted. Stopping this waste would be the equivalent of taking 1 in 5 cars off British roads.
Given the cost of todays food, our level of food waste is clearly not sustainable for the family budget. Were strong advocates of the need for a simple shopping list.
Going beyond the financial cost of food waste, our wasteful habits are simply not sustainable for the environment. When food waste rots in landfill it produces methane, a greenhouse gas thats 25 times more potent than the CO2 pouring out of your cars exhaust. When we throw away food, we also waste all of the resources, fuel and energy that were used to get that food from the paddock to our plate.
Thats why this web site is so full of tips and solutions. Despite the popularity of cooking shows, there is still a poor understanding among Australians of how to purchase, prepare, store and freeze food, and how to effectively use our leftovers. Our FoodWise campaign aims to change that. Thats why youll find a new recipe section that will help you to use up your leftover ingredients. Were also allowing the public to post their own leftover recipes so that they can share their food knowledge with others.
If you have any ideas on how the campaign can be improved, or have tips that you think should be on the site, please get in touch. FoodWise has already become a community of people who love and celebrate food. Wed very much like for you to join us.
Wasted food is a waste of money. But if we dont mend our wasteful ways, well be eating ourselves out of an environment that can sustainably support future generations. We simply cant afford for that to happen. Thats why we need you to join our campaign. We need to make a real difference - we all need to become FoodWise.
❊ Web Links ❊
➼ FoodWise
➼ www.FoodWise.com.au
➼ www.dosomething.net.au
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