| 7M Tons of Food Waste = 20M Tons of Greenhouse Gas |
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| Written by Heather McKee | |
| Sunday, 11 May 2008 | |
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After some intensive dumpster diving in the name of science, researchers in the UK have calculated that the country wastes 6.7 million tonnes (nearly 7.5 million tons) of food a year. Scientists at the government-funded Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) analyzed the types of food wasted, right down to the 1.3 millionth unopened yogurt container, to conclude that the production, transportation, refrigeration and disposal of this food equated to 18 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions (equivalent to 20% of all UK auto emissions.) WRAP is currently focusing on research that not only extends the shelf life of food (ugh), but also on encouraging local governments to create food recycling programs, and is considering methane-capture systems for wasted food. Chief Executive of WRAP, Liz Goodwin, stated that all 580,000 residents of Cambridgeshire could be provided with energy from methane capture from just 60% of the wasted food – which would also keep millions of tons of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. Minister for the Environment Joan Ruddock suggested that keeping refrigerators at the ideal temperature of 5 degrees Celsius would also extend the life of any perishables by 25%. Of course, she also made the common-sense observation that, “We can stop scraping over a million tones of food straight off our plates by cooking only we can eat, better planning meals, and thinking about portions sizes.” For more on wasted food, and how you can reduce your own contributions to this, check out Jonathan Bloom's thoughtful site Wasted Food. Via CleanTech |
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It's true what our moms said...we are what we eat. In fact, it's truer than they thought. What I eat doesn't just affect me anymore, it affects all of us.
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