The amount of waste related to food is much more vast than we tend to acknowledge. Food production, food packaging, and food transport are all part of a large network of industries that, working together, ultimately result in what you find on your plate as you tuck into a meal. We tend to not think about the vast amount of time and energy needed to provide daily conveniences such as fast-food restaurants that many people rely on for their lunchtime meals.
In 2003 Statistics Canada estimated that approximately $63 billion was spent by Canadians on food and non-alcoholic beverages in stores. 20% of that total was attributed to prepared foods, dairy, and eggs. From these statistics we can see that there is a reason to reduce our consumption of pre-packaged foods.
Packing your own lunch reduces the amount of waste you produce from non-reusable lunch items such as paper or plastic wrappers, cups, plates, straws etc. When you pack it yourself you reduce your CO2 emissions by 44.6lbs and it can save you approximately $20. Waste free lunches reduce your total costs by as much as 40%. Make sure you use a reusable lunch container, and reusable food containers as well. Try introducing non-pre-packaged foods into your lunches to reduce the amount of plastic and paper waste.
Challenge:
In 2003 Statistics Canada estimated that approximately $63 billion was spent by Canadians on food and non-alcoholic beverages in stores. 20% of that total was attributed to prepared foods, dairy, and eggs. From these statistics we can see that there is a reason to reduce our consumption of pre-packaged foods.
Packing your own lunch reduces the amount of waste you produce from non-reusable lunch items such as paper or plastic wrappers, cups, plates, straws etc. When you pack it yourself you reduce your CO2 emissions by 44.6lbs and it can save you approximately $20. Waste free lunches reduce your total costs by as much as 40%. Make sure you use a reusable lunch container, and reusable food containers as well. Try introducing non-pre-packaged foods into your lunches to reduce the amount of plastic and paper waste.
Challenge:
Pack your lunch everyday for month and see how you can save! Make an attempt to buy local and organic if you can because both of these choices are a result of low-energy input in the production and transport process. For those times when you cannot pack your own lunch try to reduce the amount of waste created when you buy your lunch. Also make sure to properly sort any waste that you do make!
Additional Information:
Here are some further resources on food sustainability:
Carbonrally
David Suzuki Foundation
Statistics Canada
To accept the challenge click here
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