ZERO WASTE TO MORE TIME AT THE TABLE
As you think about ways you can reduce food waste and incorporate more grains, beans, nuts, fruits, and vegetables into your diet, consider this: Eating this way may help you live longer.
Author Dan Buettner is a National Geographic Fellow whose work identified five areas in the world where people live the longest, healthiest lives: Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece, and Loma Linda, California. The common ground in each culture is a plant-based diet, connections with family and friends, laughter, and daily physical activity. For example, in Sardinia, they eat a diet focused on whole grains, vegetables, beans, and goat’s milk. They include meat as a flavor enhancer and accent to plant-based dishes. They also enjoy a Pecorino cheese made from sheep that supplies high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. They stay close with their family, enjoy shared meals and red wine, laughter with friends, and regular walks.
This sort of lifestyle is worth considering, no matter where you live! Slow down, prepare more meals to share with family and friends, laugh, and take a walk after dinner.
Helping the planet
Reducing your food waste may also help mitigate climate change because food is the single largest category of material placed in municipal landfills. When food rots, it produces methane, a greenhouse gas (GHG) that is related to climate change. Landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States.
Food waste and animal welfare are separate topics. However, in my experience, when people use terms such as factory farming and animal welfare, they’re often taking a particular vegetarian-leaning stance. Large livestock farms in the United States are generally managed by people whose families have owned the land for many decades — which may not be what comes to mind when you hear the term factory farm. They’re large, family-owned farms. I maintain that most of the beef, veal, pork, lamb, and poultry that you find at your local food markets were raised and slaughtered as humanely as possible.
THE CONSCIENTIOUS OMNIVORE: JARGON OR ADVOCACY?
The term conscientious omnivore was likely coined about 15 years ago. Perhaps a former vegetarian, who wanted to feel good about eating meat, thought that making statements about “only eating ethically raised meat” would make them feel good.
After visiting more than a dozen farms, including a large beef operation and a small grass-finished beef farm, the farmers I’ve met take caring for the land and their animals very seriously. My definition of conscientious omnivore is one whose diet focuses on legumes, vegetables, fruits, and grains (that is, plant foods) but can include small amounts of meat and dairy, too.
From a clinical nutrition standpoint, a diet high in fiber that is balanced for carbohydrate, protein, and fat (mostly healthy monounsaturated fats), and is limited in sugar and sodium, is related to the lowest disease risk. Fresh beef, pork, and poultry are good sources of protein and provide a lot of important nutrients, including B vitamins (thiamin, B6, B12, and niacin) and minerals (phosphorus, iron, zinc, and selenium). Animal foods do contribute cholesterol to the diet, but when you’re eating small portions, it’s not an issue.
From an ethical standpoint, livestock is raised for food by farmers and ranchers who know what they’re doing and raise and harvest animals in an ethical manner.
From an environmental standpoint, being a conscientious omnivore can lower your overall food waste, reducing what ends up in landfills.
A vegan, on the other hand, may feel differently, and that’s okay, too. It’s important to keep in mind that there are a few different agendas here: health, the environment, and animal welfare. This book focuses on reducing food waste in your kitchen, not the ethics of eating or not eating meat.
I cover more about agriculture and sustainability in Chapter 2, but to set the record straight: It’s your choice to be either an omnivore or an herbivore. In both cases, you can have a positive impact on your food budget and the environment when you waste less food (and switching to a zero waste kitchen may also improve your health).
Getting Started: How to Waste Less Food Today
You already have this book in hand, so you likely have already given some thought to your food waste habits. Perhaps you know what you waste but aren’t sure how to change. Or maybe you know you can do better but aren’t sure exactly how much you waste or where to start. No worries. This book meets you wherever you are in your food waste journey. Maybe the topic just sparked your interest, and you want to learn what zero waste cooking is all about. Or maybe you’re already on a food waste journey and need more inspiration and tips to keep going. This book is here for you. Peruse from chapter to chapter and feel free to dog-ear it up!
Wherever you are on this journey, wasting less food starts with better understanding about what you throw away and why. For example, one of the reasons you may discard foods is reliance on best-by dates marked on packages. Those dates do relate to peak quality, but they’re not food safety indicators. So, yes, you can still eat many foods past the best-by dates. Find out more about this in Chapter
