Economists - the new enemy?

[Chris]

For the world to make a shift to a vegetarian based diet, common in Africa and parts of Asia, we need governments and the food industry to make it easier.

They need to come up with a plant-based alternative that is indistinguishable in flavour and texture from meat first, until that happens most of the world is going to stay omnivorous. My sister's husband is an ex-vegetarian and I tried most of the meat-substitutes he bought and none of them were good. The best thing was a spicy bean burger, that was really tasty but it wasn't pretending to be meat.

 

[Vacumatic]

" The best thing was a spicy bean burger, that was really tasty but it wasn't pretending to be meat. "

Thats the key, if veggie food tries to copy meat it will always fail, it needs to be good enough and inventive enough for people to prefer it to a meat alternative.

I like the idea of a vegetarian diet but I cannot go the rest of my life without a crispy bacon sandwich or eggs in any and every form. I have cut right down on meat, the only food in my freezer is veggie burgers, quorn sausages and frozen veg.

But......if you said to me lets go to a carvery and have some great, rare roast beef, Yorkshires and roast potatoes I would be in the car before you finished the sentence.

 

[Rufusdog]

You misinterpreted the data, as I did too when I first heard of the study last year. According to the report you source, the annual cost of avoidable food loss and waste in Canada is $1,766 per household, NOT what the average Canadian household spends. According to the research, the household spending portion represents around 21%. The rest is waste during production, manufacturing, processing and distribution. Further, some of the food loss is unavoidable, such as when inedible food by-products, like animal bones, are discarded.

That said, the study appears well researched and the main takeaway was that up to a third of the food waste generated could be avoided thru better food production management and go a long way towards both feeding the world and mitigating the environmental consequence of food waste.

Good catch on the first point. I picked up that wording from a pamphlet issued by the Recycling Council of Ontario; I should have checked it with the the source report I cite. I’m very familiar with the concept of avoided cost from my involvement in project financing, so this was a mindless mistake for me to make.

To the other point that up to a third of food waste generated could be avoided/rescued, I have some first hand experience: Following my retirement I sat on the Board of Directors and was Treasurer of a local charity in the town where I live, that was dedicated to rescuing and distributing food that would otherwise have been sent to landfill. EVERY day of the year we collected food (fresh, canned and frozen) free of charge from grocery stores, supermarket, restaurants, food processors and farmers that was still perfectly edible, but was destined for the garbage. This food was then distributed to those in need, shelters, community organizations, etc. free of charge. I was absolutely appalled by the amount of food in our community that was destined for the dump, but was high quality and desperately needed. We couldn’t keep up with the demand and had more than enough supply. When I first joined the Board we operated just one van and had three chest freezers and two refrigerators in a single car garage. When I left the Board We were operating a larger van and two large reefer trucks and leased a small warehouse with a walk-in freezer and refrigerator. Since then the operation has grown larger. It still boggles my mind that there is so much needless food waste.

 

[les24preludes]

Wasting food is simply horrible. I have a really hard time getting my head around it. Why, why, why....? Shops I can partly (grudgingly) understand but shoppers who buy and chuck are socially and scientifically illiterate.