I was horrified to read reports in the press this week about a Unilver poll which found that we waste £64 million of food on Christmas dinners!
Apparently
- 17.2 million Brussels sprouts
- 11.9 million carrots
- 11.3 million roast potatoes
- 10.9 million parsnips
- 9.8 million cups of gravy
- 7.9 million slices of turkey
- 7.9 million cups of stuffing
- 7.5 million mince pies
- 7.4 million slices of Christmas pudding
- 7.1 million pigs in blankets
will end up in peoples waste bins!
How did we end up in such a state, where there’s around 925 million undernourished people in the world and we’re feeding our bins! As a small boy I’d loved to have done potato prints – but my mum told me food was for eating, and not to be wasted.
How times have changed, we even have have competitions to see how quickly people can stuff obscene amounts of food into their stomachs:
We definitely need more education for our our children (and their parents). Portion control is a good way to teach kids maths. If we’re having 10 people for dinner and 50% of people like sprouts, and the sprout lovers eat 6 sprouts each, how many sprouts do we need?
Leftovers are some of my favourite meals. We will buy a sensibly sized turkey, the bones will make stock, and we will enjoy tukey and ham pie, turkey risotto and turkey curry etc.
Have a look at sites like Love Food Hate Waste for more inspiration. You’ll save money and feel better. Perhaps you could join me and donate some of your savings to Oxfam?