Final Thoughts

I am heartened to see that this problem of food waste is being recognised globally. Even more so when efforts are being made all over the globe, especially here in Singapore to tackle this problem of food waste.

As discussed there are many dimensions to food waste. They can be from the production, distribution and consumption habits etc. There is also a hidden problem of packaging that comes with this issue. Many schools and canteens have attempted to address this issue by swapping to more easily degradable paper containers and disposable utensils. They also have a disincentive by charging more for takeout containers even though it may affect their business. I believe such methods will only be fair if all the stalls agree to implement it so that there is a fairer pricing ground.

Hopefully this will eventually spread on to the hawker centres islandwide!

The combination of such programs and those by NGOs and major retailers, coupled with rthe use of technology and education will undoubtedly spell a more optimistic future where food waste in minimum. So lets all do our part! :)

FairPrice, by recycling and redistributing.

Hello again! I felt like I had to share this piece of news because it tackles head-on one of the more significant reasons of food waste from retailers.

It is the FairPrice "Great Taste Less Waste Selection" campaign! FairPrice, a local supermarket giant launched a pilot campaign in 2015 at  seven FairPrice Xtra stores located across the island. It is literally giving consumers a fair price for wholesome but not visually attractive produce, by repackaing and recyling the fresh produce. Such produce include fruits and vegetables like apples, pears, oranges, bittergourd and carrots. 

FairPrice has also developed the Food Waste Index which will enable it to track its progress on various food waste reduction initiatives under the Food Waste Framework. The Food Waste Index was developed based on a consultative study and measures the annual total food waste against the total retail space of all FairPrice stores across all retail formats islandwide. This will allow NTUC FairPrice to develop a more structured and sustainable approach to tackle the issue of food waste on multiple fronts.







Images courtesy of NTUC FairPrice

The concept of this pilot is repackaging produce. It is done by trimming or portioning wholesome fruits and vegetables that are left unsold due to blemishes, then selling them off at a lower price. This is to address the problem of wastage due to consumer selection of visually appealing produce only. I personally am in great favour of this campaign. To me, it is like killing 2 birds with one stone as FairPrice still manages to sell their products and consumers are getting quality produce at cheaper prices. It eliminated the problem of waste.

As a complement, FairPrice also launched an education campaign to create greater awareness of food waste among the public and educate customers on handling food with care. The campaign also looks to reshape mindsets on how wholesome fruits and vegetables with blemishes or bruises are still good for consumption. It also hopes to teach consumers to appreciate food more. The campaign garner public interest and support through in-store collaterals and social media.

Furthermore, FairPrice has also started a long-term partnership with an NGO, Food from the Heart (FFTH). 55 FairPrice stores are to donate unsold but still wholesome canned food products to the community through FFTH on a regularly. With the new collaboration with FFTH, these charities will be able to acquire the products directly from FFTH. This initiative will further reduce the total amount of food waste while increasing the donation of products to charities. FairPrice has targeted for all 126 FairPrice stores to donate directly to FFTH.

I am heartened to see that NTUC FairPrice has voluntarily taken a step to curb food waste. Coupled with existing programs that tackle packaging issue. I believe that this program has the potential to have lasting impacts. It would definitely be ideal if the other supermarket giants like Sheng Shiong Supermarket and Giant Supermarket would follow suit with their own variations of such campaigns. 

References:

http://www.fairprice.com.sg/wps/portal/fp/pressreleases?1dmy&pagedesign=fp_design%2FCorporate%2FNews%2FPT-PressReleasesDetail&urile=wcm%3Apath%3A%2Ffp_content%2FSA-Corporate%2FSA-News%2FPressReleases%2F2015%2FNTUC%2BFairPrice%2Bintroduces%2BFood%2BWaste%2BIndex%2Bto%2Btrack%2Bfood%2Bwaste%2Band%2Blaunches%2BFood%2BWaste%2BInitiative%2Bat%2BFairPrice%2BXtra%2Bhypermarkets&page=pressreleases

Apart from technology and all the fanciful machinery used to reduce the impact of food waste, There are also many self-initiated campaigns by businesses and NGOs. One of the most prominent ones is by the Food Bank Singapore. They are a non-government organisation that offer a place for companies and the public to deposit or donate their unused or unwanted food. The food will then be collected and allocated to the needy through a network of member beneficiaries such as family service centres, various types of homes, soup kitchens, and other VWO. As of 2015 they have organised more than 5 programmes in a bid to reduce food waste. One example is the 

The Food Rescue Programme, an initiative to salvage excess cooked foods from F&B establishments by reheating them and redistributing them to poorer households. 

This campaign is also like killing 2 birds with one stone as it feeds the underprivileged as well as prevents food wastage. 

Food Wastage Footprint 2

Remember the Video? Here's part 2 with a more elaborate assement of the problem! :)

A little food for thought -  Do think twice the next time you decide to get a little extra food, just because you feel like it!

OMG Worms- vermicompost.

Technology is fantastic in helping to minimise food wastage. Whether from production, harvesting or distribution, technology has not failed to increase yields yet maintain the quality of food. However who is to say that with it, we cannot find alternative methods to minimise food waste or its emissions. From the many policies that have been introduced in a bid to curb this problem, the one I found most simple yet effective was one where certain Cape Town Hotels bought earthworm farms to decompse all their food waste in a way to minimise emission. It showed me that there are alternatives to technology, you just have to look in the most natural places, An article by Wyngaard & Lange (2013) evaluated the success of the various eco initiatives to recycle water and food waste. It also concluded that these initiatives would be a successful future endeavour to pursue.

Research by Wyngaard & Lange (2013) has found several Cape Town hotels were implementing vermicomposting - usage of earthworm farms to turn organic food waste into compost. The farms consisted of worm bins that houses the earthworms. It is multi-layered -firstly,the top layer of soil to which food waste is added to feed the earthworms. Secondly, the worm cast which is the rich soil produced by earthworms and initially contains the earthworms in the bin and lastly a tray at the bottom of the bin that collects the fluid produced by the earthworms. The compost produced by the earthworm farm after approximately six months may be harvested once it has turned into a crumbly dark soil (Jeffery et al. 2008). The fluid collected may then be converted into liquid compost as well. The compost should further be free of any foul odours and should have the smell of earth. It can then be used as fertiliser for crops. 


One version of a earthworm bin. Diagram taken from Wikipedia.



One hotel used the compost for their the herb garden which further provided sustainable ingredients to use in the kitchens. Another hotel reused their water directly through harvesting rainwater. The direct reuse of waste water allowed the hotels to irrigate their gardens during the warmer summer months with harvested rainwater. During the colder winter months, the hotels were able to irrigate their gardens solely through their rainwater harvesting initiatives as the gardens’ watering needs decreased.This significantly reduced their water consumption rates.

Overall these eco-initiatives were considered successes as each hotel managed to recycle up to 50 kg of food waste week. They also prevented roughly 38 wheeled dustbins of food waste per month from reaching landfills which would otherwise contribute to unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions and take up landspace.

Furthermore, from a ground survey carried out byWyngaard & Lange (2013), the various managements felt that government support would benefit the long term success of eco initiatives within hotels. 67% of the respondents in the Food and Beverage department and 78% of the respondents in the Rooms Division department were accepting of government  support for the implementation of eco initiatives within their hotels to ensure sustainable tourism by reducing food waste.

Honestly, I found this idea so simple yet effective and elusive. This may because in developed nations like Singapore, we are so reliant on technology that we sometimes fail to see that the solution to the problem of food waste disposal is so simple and natural. I would like to see more hotels in Singapore adopt such eco-initiatives as well!


References:

Wyngaard, A., & Lange, R. (2013). The effectiveness of implementing eco initiatives to recycle water and food waste in selected Cape Town hotels. International Journal of Hospitality Management, (13), 309-316. Retrieved October 10, 2015, from http://bb2sz3ek3z.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=The effectiveness of implementing eco ini

Technology

Technology is amazing and has been widely used to help us deal with problems. In the case of food waste, the use of technology in production, harvesting, packaging and transportation has greatly improved the shelf-life of food items while minimising wastage. This post shall be touching on how technology helps us in disposing food waste to be more eco-friendly. Currently, most organic waste is incinerated at Pulau Semakau. While this reduces land needed to store the waste, it release a unnecessarily great amount of greenhouse gases. Not to mention, it uses up fuels for the combustion which could have been used for other means to increase output.


In Singapore, major hotels like Crowne Plaza Changi Airport Hotel , Fairmount and Swissotel are segregating their waste for recycling. They are also using on site food waste treatment plants to convert the food waste into compost for landscaping purposes or water for non-potable use. As quoted from a Channel News Asia interview, Swissotel Merchant Court’s General Manager Rainer Tenius said: "We are recycling approximately 1 tonne of food waste every day which, considering our total waste in our hotel, is approximately a 45 per cent reduction of our waste.


Employee at Fairmount sorting food waste into the bins.

According to the National Environmental Agency (2015), they are planning to launch a pilot food waste mangement project at two hawker centres by the end of the year. Namely, Tiong Bahru Market and Ang Mo Kio Block 628 Market. The machines will be similar to those used by the hotels and should be supplied by Eco-Wiz. NEA said the programme will focus on training cleaners to segregate the types of food correctly to put into the different bins to be put in the machines. Food waste segregation is important because the machines can only decompose organic food matter. Things like plastic wrappings cannot be degraded by the machines. 

If the project were to be successful, I believe the effects would be far-reaching as hawker centres are where most Singaporeans dine at, thus would likely have the largest amounts of food waste. This eco-friendly method of disposing our food waste would definitely reduce our carbon footprint significantly. However, I don't believe that this technology is a solving the root of the problem. While food waste may be inevitable because of the natural crop growth, weather conditions and the various processes our food goes through -from harvesting to distribution. I believe that excess food waste stems from our wasteful usage of resources, this means we have to make better choices. This requires time and effort to change people's habits. In my opinion, a more long-term solution would be to get people to change their choices and appreciate food more. 

One can even sign a pledge here to reduce food waste in SG!




References:

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/two-hawker-centres-get-new-food-waste-recycling-machines

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/cutting-down-food-waste/1863614.html

http://flexisystems.com.sg/prod_bfwd.php

Whose duty?

Personally, I believe that the problem of food waste should be tackled through influencing consumer's choices. Furthermore,  an article by Williams et al. (2011)also states that food wasted by consumers and at food institutions has a higher accumulated environmental impact than food wasted in the distribution chain, and is therefore even more important to reduce. There is plenty of avoidable food waste in households as well, this is attributed to their shopping and dining habits. Williams et al. (2011) defined avoidable waste as food that was still edible at some point before disposable.

Thus I believe more policies and campaigns should be developed to target the consumers and their purchase habits or food preparation habits. To educate them on the impacts of their choices and wider impact of food waste on the environment and community.

Shockingly, the paper concluded that about two thirds of the food waste came from storage and one third from meals. Fruit, vegetables and dairy products dominated the wastage coming from storage. About one third of the total food waste consists of prepared food: home-cooked food, heated semi-prepared food or cold mixed food, such as salads. This shows how ill-informed the general public is about the notion of food waste. The paper also showed that households with a more lenient attitude towards wasting food, wasted more in connection with meals instead of storage. 


Image taken from https://digbyhall120.wordpress.com/category/zero-waste/


How storage causes food waste is that people tend to overstock on food when there are sales and discounts, especially in households that tend to buy all their groceries at one shot. Families end up not being able to finish the food and when its past the expiry date, they throw it away. This is a preventable problem.

Another reason the paper by  Williams et al. (2011) highlighted about over-purchasing is due to price. The prices for food bought in bulk tend to be cheaper per kg. Thus to enjoy cost-savings, consumers may tend to buy larger quantities than they can finish. This aspect may be more difficult to deal with as it involves the market mechanism and individual benefits for consumers and producers that produce in bulk.

Other studies show that consumers care much more about the household economy than the environment (Baker et al. 2009). However, I think it still boils down to beliefs and values. Is the environment worth that extra dollars for a smaller quantity of food? Are we willing to pay more, to sacrifice our benefits more for the environment? I think education would be the best tool to deal with this mindset change.


References: 

Baker, D., Fear, J., & Deniss, R. (2009). What a waste – an analysis of household expenditure on food. The Australia Institute. Retrieved October 15, 2015, from http://apo.org.au/research/what-waste-analysis-household-expenditure-food

Williams, H., Wikström, F., Otterbring, T., Löfgren, M., & Gustafsson, A. (2011). Reasons for household food waste with special attention to packaging. Journal of Cleaner Production, 24, 141-148. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2011.11.044

Tree of Life or Death?

While I was thinking about food packaging, I somehow arrived on the idea of "human packaging". It might seem a little weird or unrelated but I was thinking about funerals and us humans being all packaged in an exquisite coffin to be preserved for a long time. I couldn't help thinking about the idea of us being recycled.... I mean all our lives we have been wasting and throwing away so much. Maybe the least we can do for the environment after death is to return the nutrients stored in us back to nature?

 There is a thing for green burial where people are buried in non-toxic and biodegradable coffins and their bodies recycled back into nature but it does not seem to be very popular yet. Green burial also involves minimal environmental impact that aids in the conservation of natural resources, reduction of carbon emissions, and the restoration and/or preservation of wild habitat.

I googled the options, and stumbled upon this new, and rather extreme Italian method of green burial where the dead person eventually grows into a tree. The project is still in its early stages and is currently on display at an art gallery in Lille, but the novelty of the idea really caught my attention. -The person is literally buried inside a decomposable egg shell, called a Capsula Mundi. The capsule eventually grows into a tree. One can even choose the kind of tree he wants to become! The idea is to turn cemeteries into sacred forests.


Courtesy of Capsula Mundi.

Real-life exhibit of an actual Capsula Mundi




Artist impression of the project from official Facebook page


 Pretty interesting but I'd doubt the popularity. After all, saving the environment is more of a social issue than it is scientific, isnt it? People need to accept the idea and be willing to change their habits

The want to preserve the remnants of loved ones as a form of respect are still very prevalent in many cultures around the world. It might be difficult for them to accept this idea. Furthermore, there is the superstitious side of Asia about the spirits inhabiting trees and all. However in the US, other methods of green burials are gaining immense popularity. It would be interesting to see the idea of green burials catch on here. Although I honestly doubt its feasible in certain land-scarce countries like Singapore, due to lack of land-space and religious beliefs.


References:

Capsula Mundi. (n.d.). Retrieved October 5, 2015, from http://www.capsulamundi.it/bosco_eng.html

Jinman, R. (2015, October 3). Green burials: Plans for new biodegradable human seed pods to replace traditional coffins. Retrieved October 5, 2015.

KFC's edible cups

Picture :KFC


Not any ordinary cup (Instagram: jess13simpson)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/11434220/KFC-to-offer-edible-coffee-cups.html

I came across this piece through some late night browsing and it sure is stirring up my apetite. KFC in the UK has rolled out this new creation of coffee in a cup made of biscuits and white chocolate for insulation. An edible biscuit cup filled with coffee, wrapped in sugar paper. Seemingly all the guilty pleasures in a mouthful, I would really love trying one.

Apart from stirring an apetite in me, this article also allowed me to admire how environmetally friendly this new product is. The ironic thing is that it is coming from a fastfood chain. And fastfood chains are infamous for the amount of waste they create; from the sheet of paper that lines the trays that nobody reads, to all the disposable packagings and utensils.

In my opinion, this creation of edible coffee cup would be a larger hit amongst consumers than the little Wikiballs. For one, KFC's coffee cup is actually something people actually familiar with and seems less intimidating than eating a little ball of icecream with a hard sugar covering.
Furthermore, it saves consumers the hassle of looking for a bin to dispose a usual cup. This would be most beneficial to the working population who are always in a rush but need a quick caffine fix on the go.

The best thing is that this product produces zero packaging waste! Take the amount of saved packaging materials multiplied by the projected amount of sales, this ingenious coffe cup could possibly cut back its carbon foot print by a significant amount. Assuming one literally finishes the entire cup, there would be zero food waste as well!

I am hoping that KFC might actually bring this creation to Singapore one day!

Blame Game.

Hello there! Thank you again for reading this blog! I hope it has given you some new insights! :) Today, I will be discussing where the root cause of the problem of food waste is at, and some possible approaches the people and governments can take. Do read on!

Like all problems, the question is who is to be blamed? I came across this journal article by Göbel et al. (2015) that suggested that looked at the supply side of food waste instead of the consumption side. The journal suggested that the reason for excessive food waste could be spread through the entire food supply chain, and may not be  Göbel based the conclusions off research on Germany's ( a developed nation's) food supply chain which can be modeled to many other developed nations.

Given the increase in world population as well as rising affluence, people are demanding more food and a greater variety of them. This then puts pressure on suppliers for more sustainable farming. As was previously mentioned, food wastage is also a waste of natural resources such as land, energy or water. It also contributes to unnecessary CO2 emissions. The effects of anthropogenic induced environmental impact and climate change threaten the livelihood of future generations.

__ identified a number of reasons for the wastage of food, below are some of them.

1) Process- and Market-Induced Standards Quality Requirements

It was concluded that marketing/retailer product quality standards as well as product specifications were the main causes of food waste. I mean as a consumer myself I understand the attraction towards optically attractive products, this is especially true for fresh produce like fruits and vegetables. One's minds automatically correlate good-looking fresh products to higher nutritional value and better taste. Unfortunately, that is not true. Because consumers prize cosmetic value when choosing fresh produce, retailers carry out strict quality control. They pick and market those visually appealing ones and throw out the those that are not. Even when there is nothing else that is wrong with the vegetable. This results in so much waste. 

Interestingly, when supply is sufficient even products with minor defects are rejected (with reference to standards) whereas in situations of reduced supply, products which would normally not be acceptable are accepted. This shows that the standards of quality are set largely by the demands and preferences of consumers and not actual nutritional values. This shows the huge loophole which results in so much food wastage. On top of that, there are already strict regulations on the quality of food products especially on processed food and meat. Many times, products are discarded because of health risks resulting from low quality or nutritional value.

Solution? Göbel also suggested that direct marketing may help ease the problem. This is because it involves fewer middle-men between grower and consumer, and so there are fewer quality checks, fewer restrictions on quality and less transport which might damage food.

2)  Market Convention

The determination of best-by dates. These properties do not necessarily say anything about the microbiological shelf life of a product, and products must not be disposed of at the end of the bestby dates. Often, the best-by date is often interpreted as an indicator of freshness, when in actual fact, the dates are often determined more by marketing than by product requirements. Thus customers tend to choose products with the longest best-by dates to obtain the freshest products, leaving those with earlier best-by dates on the shelves until they eventually expire. These expired food may sometimes be donated to the underprivileged, but not always. They may then be disposed of.

3) Availability of Food.

Due to strong price competition in saturated markets. There is price dumping between dealers, leading to low food prices. This is the reason why people in industrialized countries can afford to waste food It might be concluded that loss of food can be compensated quickly and inexpensively. A key reason for the loss along the entire food chain is the high expectation of constant availability of a broad range of fresh products. People do not appreciate or value the food items as much, thus are more willing to waste food.

4) Technology

Especially in the case of processed food and diary products, sometimes the machine malfunctions and the entire batch of food has to be thrown out. Resulting in humongous wastage.

Göbel also proposes a few solutions to these problems. Namely, to enhance processing and transportation, as well as food management. She also noted that regulations for structures and rules regarding best-by dates and labels should be standardised to avoid complications. It would also help if people were taught to appreciate food more.

References: 

Göbel, C., Langen, N., Blumenthal, A., Teitscheid, P., & Ritter, G. (2015). Cutting Food Waste through Cooperation along the Food Supply Chain.Sustainability, 7(2), 1429-1445. http://dx.doi.org.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/10.3390/su7021429

Edible Wrappers?!!

As the semester progresses, I'm starting to feel the toll of university life. From Hall commitments to catching up on school work, I find it increasingly difficult to wake up in time for lessons every morning. (Especially 8am lessons). Of course, this results in a mad rush to get ready and run down to the canteen to get myself some nosh before breakfast ends. Inevitably, I'll be asking for takeaway which comes in a disposable styrofoam box.

In Singapore, where everybody seems to always be in a rush, takeaway styrofoam or plastic boxes are something most of us cannot live without. The worse thing is that these styrofoam and plastics will not be accepted by recycling companies according to NEA's guidelines because they have been contaminated by food & liquid waste. Which is really such a waste due to the amounts of these materials we use for food packaging.

Why not create more biodegradable packaging? Or even edible wrappers which is actually already a thing. I did a quick google search and stumbled upon this article which stated that a Harvard Professor, David Edwards developed an type of edible food packaging known as WikiCells in 2012. It is a container that mimics the natural covering of fruits and vegetables. Food, both solid and liquid can be contained by it. The Wikicell even has customized flavoring to match the food that it packages. Thus far, it has been used to contain icecream, yogurt, soft drinks etc. Actually, the WikiCell has two layers of shells. The inner (soft) shell is completely edible whereas the outer shall may or may not be edible, depending on the kind of WikiCell and how it reaches the consumer. A completely edible outer shell would allow consumers like us  to just wash and eat it like an apple. On the other hand, the non-edible but completely biodegradable outer shell can be peeled off like the skin of an apple.

(Image courtesy of http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/sci/edible-food-packaging-cut-plastic-waste.html)

I find the idea really amazing and ingenious, as this eliminates the need for a secondary (usually plastic) wrapper, Which not only is a waste of plastic but has the potential to cause even more damage to the environment if not disposed of properly. As quoted by Professor Edwards himself, " It's as shippable as a standard package"

WikiCell Yogurt. Image courtesy of WikiCells

However, while I feel that the WikiCells have the potential to be a viable alternative to plastic food packaging, I think that consumers might be apprehensive towards actually eating the WikiCells, Thus, its might take some time for it to catch on in the market. It is psychologically difficult to accept as we have been so obsessed about cleanliness and so used to removing wrapping and washing our food before eating it. This applies especially to those WikiCells with completely edible outer shells. Futhermore, they might not have enough knowledge of WikiCells to accept the idea,

I don't think the average consumer would feel safe just washing the WikiCell before eating, knowing that it has been shipped as it is without additional plastic packaging.

If this would be the case, plastic packaging would still be needed in order to ensure successful sales of the WikiCell and thus defeats the actual purpose of inventing the WikiCell in the first place.

Seeing as how it has been 3 years since the invention of WikiCell, and it hasn't really caught on, to consumers it must not have seemed like a viable alternative to the standard plastic packaging.

All in all, I believe the success of this edible packaging invention really depends on us, the consumers.

References:

National Environment Agency of Singapore (NEA) Vox. "Recycling" 2013

Spector, Dina. "Harvard Professor Tells Us The Full Implications Of Edible Food Packaging." Business Insider. August 30, 2012

Neccessary Evil Packagings

When I think of food wastage, another problem immediately comes to mind. And that is the food packaging. Research by Hawkins (2013) has shown that food packaging is a significant source of  solid waste. In my opinion, it is almost impossible to talk about food and waste without confronting the problem of packaging. Especially in this age where people are becoming increasingly concerned with hygiene and visual appearance of their food. I mean, think about eating an a pear. One would have to tear open the plastic bag or cardboard box that the pear comes in and remove the styrofoam net protecting the fruit before consumption of the food. So much waste is generated from packagings.




Not to mention Singaporean's favourite thing to do - takeaway food or "da pao" it. Often, takeaway containers are made of stryofoam or plastic which do not degrade easily and pollute the environment. Even when plastics degrade, there is the problem of microplastics in the soil leaking into the marine environments and disrupting the entire ecosystem. (Cole et al. 2013)

While packagings are unarguably used to extend the biological life of food, to manage scarcity or to facilitate exchange, until the early nineteenth century they were not used on a commercial scale. Throughout the nineteenth century, developments in canning and bottling developed rapidly in the major industrial nations of Europe, especially in response to the demands of population growth, urbanization and the expansion of navies and sea travel. In modern days, as urbanization and industrialization are becoming more prevalent, food production and distribution grew more complex. More people moving to cities needed more food which meant more transportation of food from rural regions that grew the food.


Hawkins (2013) also mentioned that packaging is generally hailed as one of the key developments affording protection against harmful bacteria, light, oxygen and contamination. Ironically(or not) it is also celebrated as an innovation that has significantl yreduced food waste by extending the biological life of food and delivering the edible components without all the excess elements.  Unfortunately,  the afterlife of the actual package has often been overlooked. This blindness to the waste impacts of packaging has been looked into more in the recent years with the rise of research into sustainable design, biomaterials and degradation cycle management..

On the hand, I feel that packaging has somewhat been abused as people become more affulent. Take hampers for example. 

Image from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi23rESI2Wcs8Tt-SIc1O-kx67uHLn_crSGuoXiRkBVSgVx42YMyDsgTqL9TZvv9sh4DNGIyv7yjX-rBWONisL6jUtkfo8QU2EL_ijFcPwtcb9IUTLb7eN8CM0cUvYOVTNVOGfxD42uSEg/s1600/IMG_2471.JPG

I mean just look at the amount of plastics and printed cardboard used to decorate this thing. Not to mention cardboard backings and scotch tape to stack the food products up. Some may argue that this sort of exagerated gifts are unneccesary. However in the corporate world, such well packaged gifts are customary and even essential. For it not only shows manners but is a sign and display of appreciation. I mean, a sparsely wrapped bundle of expensive food items, without any decoration would hardly be considered appropriate in formal gift exchanges. Moreoever, it is often the intricate packaging that makes a quality product, a quality product.

Take Japan for example, they have the culture that values the aesthetic appeal of gifts. Take a look at the video on how Japanese gifts are usually wrapped!

I guess packaging can be considered a neccesary evil. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't put in effort to minimise the impacts of packaging waste on the environment! Do your part! In the easiest ways, avoid takeouts as much as possible or use a reusable plastic container. Minimise the use of plastic bags as well, or recycle them if you must! :)




References:

Hawkins, G. (2013). The performativity of food packaging: Market devices, waste crisis and recycling. The Sociological Review Sociol Rev,60(Supplement S2), 66-83. doi:10.1111/1467-954X.12038

Cole, M., Lindeque, P., Fileman, E., Halsband, C., Goodhead, R., Moger, J., & Galloway, T. (2013). Microplastic Ingestion by Zooplankton.Environmental Science & Technology Environ. Sci. Technol., 47(12), 6646–6655-6646–6655. doi:10.1021/es400663f.

Who would waste meat?

Did you know that throwing away meat is more harmful to the environment than wasting vegetables?

I mean really, who doesn't love meat? I know I sure do. However, there are time where people over order or cook dishes in the heat of the moment & end up not being able to finish them. Moreover, in the Asian culture, especially in black or white tie events, hosts would rather prepare extra food than have insufficient food. I understand, this is sometimes inevitable but there are ways to prevent this.

It is linked to the fact that meat is generally more expensive than vegetables. This is simply because more resources are required to raise an animal than to plant a crop. These resources include the water and fertilisers used to grow feed for the animals, land used to rear them, energy spent to process the meat and transport the meat. Energy used to operate coolers to preserve the meat etc. etc.

That's not to say that its okay to leave vegetable on your plate. The production of crops in argiculture also uses large amounts of resources. In fact in the US, water of agricultural use makes up about 80% of the Nation's consumptive water use according to the United States Department of Agriculture and Economic Research Service.

Research by Costello et al. (2015) also showed that the majority of greenhouse gas emissions occur in the production stages prior to the farm products' leaving the farm. The greenhouse gas emission estimates were measured from cradle (land preparation or animal birth) to farm gate (when the grain or animal was sent to a processing facility). Thus they are urging consumers to take special note when ordering or preparing meat. And to pay more attention to the type of food wasted, on top of the quantity wasted.

So the next time you decide you eat just half of your steak to save that extra few calories, know that it is more than just a waste of your own money!

Here's a tantalising picture of my dinner to whet your appetite! Remember, don't waste that meat! Or any kind of food for that matter.

References:

Costello, C., Birisci, E., & Mcgarvey, R. (2015). Food waste in campus dining operations: Inventory of pre- and post-consumer mass by food category, and estimation of embodied greenhouse gas emissions.Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems Renew. Agric. Food Syst., (1), 1-11. doi:10.1017/S1742170515000071

Insight

Thankfully, more people are recognising food wastage as a serious problem. Much effort is put into minimising food wastage nowadays.

The source of food wastage stems from many components in the food supply chain and not just one alone. Thus a combination of policies should be in place so as to counter the problem most effectively. Here is a little summary of the stakeholders and food supply chain involved in the problem of food wastage in Singapore.


Image taken from: the Food Bank Singapore Ltd.


Apart from the National Environment Agency, some non-goverenment organisations that are working to address the issue of food waste include the Food Bank Singapore Ltd, Singapore Environment Council and Food from the Heart. Business organisations like Singapore Hotel Association are also making constant efforts to solve the problem.

From a global outlook, the issue of food waste is also gaining prevalance. So much so that France's parliament has recently passed a law obliging supermarkets to give unsold food to charities or put it to other uses, such as animal feed, rather than disposing it.( National Catholic Reporter, 2015).
The law also binds large supermarkets to sign formal contracts with charities by July 2016, or face an $82,700 fine or two years in jail. As part of wider official efforts to halve the country's food waste by 2025, the law also includes educational programs on food waste for schools and businesses. 

In Singapore, there are no legally binding laws. However many supermarket giants like FairPrice Pte Ltd has their own programmes and campaigns to help combat the problem of food waste.



References:

National Catholic Reporter. 51.17 (June 5, 2015): p4.

Food waste a problem?

Growing up in an Asian family, I've been told since I was a child not to leave any food on my plate after meals or my husband will have a less than perfect complexion. I guess that was the way my parents taught me not to waste food, it also trained me to be less picky with my food. Unfortunately that may not be true for all. Especially in developed nations like Singapore, where food scarcity is the least of our worries. Furthermore, all Singaporeans being "kiasu" loves cheap food and sales. There is a tendency to overbuy and order more than what we can finish when food is cheap. 

As such, most people tend to take for granted the amount of food we have, and not think twice about throwing away any leftover food. Furthermore, in certain asian cultures, it is considered rude to finish everything on the plate as it indicates that the host hasn't provided sufficient food.

Unknown to most, food waste in Singapore is very real. In 2012, about 0.618 million tonnes of food were thrown away and only 12% was recycled. This means, on average, each person in Singapore generated about 116kg of food waste a year (NCCS Enewsletter 2013).  As seen the the graph below, our rate of recycling food has not been improving much over the years while total food waste output has increased significantly.


Image taken from http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/recycling-foodwaste-yet-catch-singapore

The amount of food waste generated in Singapore has increased by about 48% over the past decade and is expected to rise further ( NEA 2015). The National Environment Agency (NEA) said that besides population growth, a rise in tourist arrivals and increasing affluence had contributed to the problem. The ease of accessibility to food and increased food variety could also have worsened the wastage.


Infographic taken from FoodBank SG.



Infographic by Makan Mantra on the statistics of food waste in 2011.

This problem has permeated every link of the supply chain. From households, to restaurants, to hawker centres. Food is wasted when there is improper storage or handling, when edible food. is thrown away, when there are leftovers from cooking, or when we cannot finish our food. Furthermore, food waste contributes to about 10% of total solid waste each year in Singapore.This is a huge problem as food waste cause not only economic issues but environmental ones as well. Let me briefly go through some.

The economic issues that stem from food wastage are rather obvious. Besides the resources wasted in food production, transportation and packaging, even more cost is incurred to dispose of the unconsumed food. One example is the cost of fuel or energy to incinerate the food waste.

Next, the environmental issues. Again, unknown to most, food wastage actually contributes to climate change. This is because the production of food consumes vast quantities of water, fertilizer and land. Moreover, the fuel that is burned to process, refrigerate and transport it also adds to the environmental cost. Another cost is the landspace used to contain all the incinerated food waste like Pulau Semakau in Singapore.

In other countries where they do not incinerate leftover food, it decomposes and emits methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Globally, it creates 3.3 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases annually, about 7 percent of the total emissions, according to the report.

The United Nations agency points out that methane gas from the world’s landfills are surpassed in emissions by only China and the United States. This should be enough to call for some action to be taken to curb this problem. Moreover, this problem can be relatively easy to solve.

“Seven percent is not the largest contributor of greenhouse gasses, but it’s not an insignificant amount,” said Helen Mountford, the director of economics at the World Resources Institute.

Mountford also made another statement which I agree fully with -"Reducing food waste is one area where we can make a difference most easily." I mean, it literally starts with your personal everyday choices. How much to buy? What to buy? The solutions are really almost as simple as that.

Sadly, there is also a large ethical dimension to food waste since a large part of the world’s population is starving (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, 2010). This may be attributed to inequity in distribution of food as well. As the much used phrase goes - "think about the starving children in Africa when you waste food!" In my opinion, however, the problem of distribution is a intricate one and difficult to pinpoint a culprit and find a solution.

References:

FACTSHEET ON FOOD WASTE MANAGEMENT. (2015, March 11). Retrieved August 31, 2015, from http://www.nea.gov.sg/docs/default-source/corporate/COS-2015/cos-2015-media-factsheet---food-waste.pdf?sfvrsn=0

NCCS ENEWSLETTER. (2013) Curbing Food Wastage in Singapore [Online] Available from: http://www.nccs.gov.sg/climatechallenge/issue05/ask-dr-green.html 

Nixon, R. (2015, February 26). Food Waste Is Becoming Serious Economic and Environmental Issue, Report Says. The New York Times, p. A18. Retrieved September 01, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/26/us/food-waste-is-becoming-serious-economic-and-environmental-issue-report-says.html?_r=1

The state of food insecurity in the world, 2010: Addressing food insecurity in protracted crises. (2010). Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Food wastage footprint

I stumbled upon this video while browsing through Youtube. I found it really impactful, it summarises the leftover food problem well, so I thought I'd share it here :) Enjoy!

Introduction

Hi there! Welcome to this little space where I will be sharing on some environmental issues that I feel strongly about. Please feel free to drop me a comment for any opinions :)

Recently, I've been concerned over the topic of wastage. Wastage of the very things we use in everyday life. From food to water to plastics, humans are wrecking the environment because of our waste.

Sadly I cannot deny that I am indeed, also guilty of wastage myself. As I believe most privileged people living in the developed nations would be too. One of the most apparent thing that we waste would be food. Yet not many people would identify that as a problem, nor see the long list of negative environmental and economical impacts.

The buffet and high end dining has seen rising popularity in Singapore over the recent years. This is because as people become more affluent, food becomes more affordable. Thus they are more likely to overspend and order more than enough food. Furthermore, being able to sit down to a plentiful feast, has always signified wealth and contentment. For instance, in Singapore, the amount of food waste generated has increased by about 48% over the past 10 years (MEWR Singapore, 2015)


Sumptous spread but is it too much?


 
Is this a common occurence for you?

Food wastage has environmental and economic impacts. When food is thrown away, all the vast quantities of water, fertilizer and land used in its production are thrown down the drain too. The fuel that is burned to process, refrigerate and transport it also adds to the environmental cost. It is as if the amount of resources being wasted is more than double the that of the amount of discarded food. Thus amplifying the problem. Moreover, a large sum of money is also needed to dispose of the food properly. 

This problem is expected to worsen as the world’s population increases. Especially when the global middle class expands by 2030.

As the adage goes, " Prevention is better than cure". Hence the reason why I feel so strongly about wastage is that it is entirely preventable. Should we be able to adapt to a new, less wasteful lifestyle, we would be able to get to the root of the problem. 

Unfortunately, I believe that itself requires some form of legislation and government intervention. However, I am glad that at least, this problem is receiving some recognition and more is being done to savage the situation.

References:

FACTSHEET ON FOOD WASTE MANAGEMENT. (2015, March 11).