Stacked Intent: Be Authentically YOU!
The Stacked Intent podcast explores topics such as healthy relationships, finance, and nutrition, all backed by research. It aims to guide listeners toward intentional living and building confidence. Stacked Intent is a Family Life Education business that helps individuals discover their authentic selves and make impactful decisions regarding money, time, and energy. The initiative was inspired by a pivotal question about fostering healthy relationships, emphasizing the need for education on true relationship boundaries. Through podcasts, courses, and other resources, Stacked Intent promotes understanding and practicing healthy relationships and self-reflection.
Stacked Intent: Be Authentically YOU!
101: Understanding Food Waste Reduction and Its Benefits for You
Understanding Food Waste Reduction and Its Benefits for You
- Brief Summary of objectives:
- OBJECTIVE 1: Identify the difference between food waste and food loss.
- OBJECTIVE 2: Discuss the issues with food waste.
- OBJECTIVE 3: Explore ways to reduce food waste.
- Call to action: Take steps to reduce your food waste by shopping from your home first and looking for ways to preserve or share goods with others before they have to be discarded.
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Understanding Food Waste Reduction and Its Benefits for You
Brief Summary of objectives:
- OBJECTIVE 1: Identify the difference between food waste and food loss.
- OBJECTIVE 2: Discuss the issues with food waste.
- OBJECTIVE 3: Explore ways to reduce food waste.
Topic 1: What is food waste and how does it affect us in the United States?
Point 1: By definition, food waste is “any food that is fit for human consumption but is discarded or not used.” This can happen at home, in restaurants, or in the food supply chain. Examples of food waste include food that goes uneaten by a customer in a restaurant, or by an individual at home that gets thrown away, food that is thrown away due to spoilage or nearing expiration dates, or food that is discarded because of cosmetic imperfections. Overproduction or overstocking food can also be a contributing factor to food waste and would be like if on a buffet line or at a party, more food than is consumed is put out and thrown away after a period for food safety purposes. These examples are categorized as the “7 types of food waste” and are due to expiration, spoilage, plate waste, production waste, overstocking/overordering, cosmetic imperfections, and food loss.
Point 2: Food loss is when edible food is lost or thrown away before it reaches the consumer and normally happens during production, storage, processing, or distribution. Basically, the difference in food loss and food waste is where the “discard” occurs.
Point 3: The most common destination for wasted food products is landfills. There are some alternative methods, such as composting, but almost 40% of the entire US food supply is being wasted, with 95% ending up in landfills, making it the largest component of municipal solid waste (Harvard TH Chan).
Topic 2: Issues surrounding food waste-the “so what?”
Point 1: Consumers, restaurants, producers, grocery stores, farmers, distributors all deal with food waste. While it may not seem like a big deal for you to leave food on your plate or throw out something that has spoiled, when you factor in how much food is produced across the country and how much of it is thrown in the trash daily, it adds up to a lot. Every little bit can help!
Point 2: When food decomposes in the landfill, it creates methane gas, which becomes an environmental and air quality concern and is also thought to contribute to climate change.
Point 3: There are lots of ways in which the food supply chain can make a difference in their overall waste. Businesses, restaurants, and others in the food service industry can work with consultants to assess their overall consumption and figure out what people are purchasing the most, leaving on their plate, and what is spoiling the quickest. Considering these factors can help these food businesses get a better picture of how much food waste they actually have on a regular basis and figure out where they can make adjustments. There are many programs that allow consumers to purchase produce that doesn’t meet qualifications for market sales due to external blemishes, shape, or coloration. These “ugly” items have nothing else wrong with them and can often times be purchased at discounted prices. Some farmers even repurpose the produce that cannot be sold and make it into animal feed.
Topic 3: Ways you can reduce food waste
Point 1: Food preservations methods such as canning and freezing are great ways to reduce food waste at home. If you got a really great deal on strawberries that were in season and you know there is no way you can eat them all, you can use them to make jams and jellies or freeze them to use in smoothies year-round! Or if you have a garden and your crop was overly abundant this year and you have given away all that you can, make salsas, can, or freeze the vegetables so they maintain peak flavor and nutrient quality.
Point 2: Shop smarter. Plan your meals for the week and create your grocery list around them. Don’t forget to shop your pantry, refrigerator and freezer first to make sure you don’t already have the items you need. Try not to overbuy-even though they may have a great deal on something or a BOGO, but if you know that it is something that you don’t eat very often, don’t get it just because its on sale. If you know you only need or will likely only consume one, then just get one. Many stores will honor the deal and give the product to you for half the price if you are just getting one instead of two. When shopping for dairy products, reach for the one in the back. Stores will put the ones that are going to expire first in the front of the rack/shelf, so to find one that will stay in date for longer, pull one from the back!
Point 3: Donate food. If you have food that is still in within date, but you know you are not going to eat it, donate it to a local food drive or food pantry instead of throwing it away.
Call to action: Take steps to reduce your food waste by shopping from your home first and looking for ways to preserve or share goods with others before they have to be discarded.
