"It's far easier to save a dollar than it is to make one."

- Christine Terhune Herrick, Good Housekeeping Late 1800s.

Taken from Susan Strasser's Waste and Want

Waste Resolution #3: Only Buy Food That You Know You'll Use

Only Buy Food That You Know You'll Use

Easier said than done. Someone told me ages ago that grocery stores are strategically laid out so you get enticed. That always stuck with me. I think the best move would be to live near a grocery store, so you buy things as you need them.

I sort of addressed the idea that my roommate never waste because her food was all frozen. But there are all sorts of awful things that go along with preservation, packaging and keeping food cold. So, maybe that isn't the best option!

Compost, Buying too much and Dumpster Diving

A little late on this one, but I found a terrific article in Toronto Star on waste in Ontario. A huge problem I am dealing with is over buying. I like her intro line to her article -

"Food is so plentiful in Canada that even our garbage cans are full of it." ("Waste Land," Jennifer Bain, Toronto Star, January 15, 2011)

Waste, and over wasting is a huge issue that the government is struggling to grapple with. Toronto I was most astonished to find keeps absolutely no garbage in the walls of the city. I really wanted to craft an article to argued that Toronto Should Keep Their Own Garbage In The Walls Of Their City. You explore my ideas further in a little brief I wrote when the new year rolled around, big changes in the city.

My TA at the time kept trying to tease ideas out of me, I simply couldn't argue the space issue (there simply is not any!) It's really easy to defend the social issues, but then you struggle with the monetary benefits for the recipients of the waste. So, I am a little stuck and hope to have the good opportunity to explore this further.

But something I have been really struggling to address is overbuying food. Last year, I lived with a girl who bought largely frozen food - something I am hesitant to do. I however, week after week found myself throwing out tons and tons of fresh food that didn't make my belly! Still, even more so living with my Grandpa now I find myself wasting far too much.

Bain explores some really valid points that need serious evaluation -

1. Food waste is the "Elephant in the Room," The Green bin is a guilt eraser!

She calls it the "elephant in the room" because it's something we know is there but don't know how to address. She states:

"In Ontario, there are multiple fees for everyone from manufacturers to consumers to handle the disposal of e-waste. But how do you handle that with a head of lettuce?"

2. What should we do with the waste? How do we save it before it becomes garbage?

Who has kitchen staff to transport bruised apples into apple sauce? Who can hand out yogurt before it expires? Who would best appreciate milk, coffee creamers or green energy smoothies?

These are questions that I drew from Bain's article. She claims these are problems that Second Harvest drivers face daily. Second Harvest is a brilliant service that collects unused, leftover food from restaurants, bakeries and shops. They can actually take food that is one year past their expiration date, providing it is frozen. Blayne Walker, a Second Harvest Driver states that "If you won't eat is, don't pick it up."

3. North American portions

I wish I was raised in a culture that is comfortable with small portions. I come from a family and environment that finds satisfaction in larger portions of lousy (but ever so delicious) food. She touches on a great group called Love Food Hate Waste, a campaign encouraging portioning and conscious food shopping.

I'm a little crossed on the doggie bag debate. My coworkers and I often get a sick chuckle out of what people will take home. It was less obvious at the last place because we would just toss the customers the boxes. The restaurant I work at is slightly upper class, I have to see and package everything people wish to eat later on. Bain's article harps on the good merits of doggie bagging everything. She states -

"Blame it on the "all-you-can-eat" culture that Bloom has renamed "all-you-can waste." Or the fact that asking a restaurant for a doggie bag is sometimes seen as gauche."

We do judge you that way. Sometimes packing up every little fry is tedious, but I agree with Bain's stance. However, every styrofoam container I have to use to package up every chip left is painfully hard for me. I am the first to love a leftover meal, (especially one I didn't make!) but it just gets to the point where you know people will absolutely not eat their soggy chips later on!

I wish all restaurants, including my own would use more ecofriendly containers. Another serious issue that we're all struggling with. I will touch on this in the future! Paper dishes, or green, compostable plates and cutlery are not always welcomed to the compost stream. At least I can speak for the research I've done in Toronto. Mixed up. Will feature this in the upcoming weeks!

4. Gleaning

"Gleaning is the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers' fields after they've been harvested or deemed unprofitable to harvest. Gleaners eat the free food or pass it on to those who are hungry."

Meet the Ontario Association of Food Bank's Community Harvest program - They collected 12,635 pounds of corn, potatoes, eggplants and bell peppers for the association to hand out at food banks for Thanksgiving.

Meet Not Far From the Tree - Seven hundred volunteers harvested nearly 20,000 pounds of fruit from 228 Toronto trees on private property this year. The fruit is then transported on foot (or bike) and evenly divded amongst property owners, volunteers, food banks and shelters.

I read this terrific book called Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal by a British chap named Tristam Stuart. He talked about his experience dumpster diving. A concept you absolutely must dive (pun!) into.

Further reading and consideration:

American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half of It's Food (and What We Can Do About It) by Martin Gooch

Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal by Tristam Stuart

Reuse, Toilet Paper Rolls

Who says toilet paper rolls are rubbish?

Meet Anastassia Elias, talented and completely original artist.

Waste Resolution #2: Buy Less, Keep Less

Buy Less, Keep Less

I grew up lost in stuff. This is a result of a vicious combination of my Mother's love of shopping and my Dad's immense sentimental value for stuff.

Something that has really made me aware of the potential to change is living with others as well as moving frequently. I have moved four times in three years.

Three things that I buy very effortlessly is music, movies and books. Great things, but I have to find a healthy medium.

I'm hoping in a big move across the country I can really sever my ties with my stuff.

I will make a few more comments on stuff in the days to come. It's a real rich untouched field that I don't think is properly addressed in the Reality TV Drama Hoarders.

This is the den I grew up in. I am puckering up to my Grandfather and my bro is looking quite pensive.

Sturla Gunnarsson: 'Force of Nature'

Force of Nature is a film directed by Sturla Gunnarsson, an individual born in Iceland raised in Vancouver. He hasn't done too much that I've really connected with, but his repertoire is out there.

I really appreciated this film. Gunnarsson's Force of Nature gave focus to Activist/Scholar David Suzuki. Interestingly, Suzuki is the main character that lets his life unfold in front of the viewer without coming off as an educational seminar entirely.

David Suzuki is so significant because of a ream of things, his ethnicity, advanced thinking and effort filled activism bundled together with a great ounce of hope.

He touches on a few major problems that I really identify with environmentally -

The Population Issue

Addressed by Thomas Malthus over two hundred years ago, the population crunch is a major issue. In my fourth year of university, I was completely fixated on addressing the population problem. There are simply too many people on the earth. My perspective sought to address the issue ethically, unfortunately my approach was tremendously flawed. I made the argument that humans are living on land that is unsustainable, thus humans should not be living there. I was originally trying to address famine and access to water, naturally my focus was funneled to the poorer nations struggling with these issues. This was obviously not a realistic response but it really resonated with me.

People usually responded with the argument that it is flourishing nations like Canada are unsustainable. OK, fair. I left this argument to rest.

Suzuki tackled this significantly less directly, although a very tactful approach. He addressed major issues that are affecting an exponential population growth:

Life Longevity

Growing eco footprints

He also claimed that we're all fruit flies. He explained, we're leading a suicidal pattern which could be explained in a mathematical ceremony. Steady growth = exponential, or doubling growth cycle. Consider bacteria in a sample, at 59 minutes it is half full, in one minute, if each bit of bacteria duplicates itself, in just one minute the sample is completely full of bacteria. Leaving it to the last minute means we're too late to address these issues. He asks: How much is enough?

Forces of Nature give humans limitations

Limitations is another point that recently interested me. His point in the film stated that it was these natural forces that limit humans - ozone, oxygen. A co-worker at work last night commented about how sunscreen is actually not helping us. She made the point that it is by burn that humans think to move away from the sun, less time exposure. But with the invention of sunscreen, humans are spending extended hours in the sun, far worse than we did before.

When will these limitations halt our dangerous actions.

Human constructs

He specifically tackles the words Enterprise and Capitalism. These are words that have grown to dramatically affect how we look at things. They're just words. I wish it was that easy to reduce it to just words.

He states: "When we measure everything in economic value, those things that mean most to us are worthless"

Stuff wealth vs. things that we did (what matters?)

He also name drops Margaret Mead.

I was happy to hear the very uplifting tune "Neighbourhood #1" by The Arcade Fire. And peppered throughout the film Bob Dyland's "A Hard Rain" and Cole Porter's "Don't Fence Me In." Paul Desmond also made the soundtrack.