Potential to change the World - Reducing Food Waste

   We can't change the world; we can't fix the whole environment. But we can change our intention, our priorities and take responsibilities. If we can't change the world, at least we can change the way we look at things.
We can recycle, we can reuse and stop wasting natural resources that we get easily. 

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.” 

― Mahatma Gandhi

Wasting food is a large issue in the World that needs to be solved. People are living on this planet as if they have another one to go. People know the price of everything, but they have stopped giving the value. As most of the population who are earning well enough, forget to give value to natural resources that come easily in their hand, especially food. But, the people who are more affected by this act are the poor.

We can help in reducing food wastage, the harmful practice by a well-planned action.

1. Shopping Smart: 

    Most people tend to buy more than they actually need. As per the research, shopping method leads to more wastage of food. We can easily avoid buying more food than we need by checking out what already we have at our home, listing out exactly what we want, and buying a bulk of grocery once a week than visiting regular to stores. This will help us from impulse buying and reducing wastage of food as well. The best idea is to plan the week’s meals in advance, figure out what ingredients we require for each, and write them all down on a list. As long as we stick to the meal plan, there can't be much food left over!

2. Storing food correctly:

    The improper storage of food can lead to massive wastage. Many don't know the exact way of storing food items in the refrigerator or outside which results in rotting and damages. We should keep a few items at room temperature. Not every fruits and vegetable are meant to be stored in the refrigerator. By proper packaging and knowing about vegetables and fruits which release gas like ethylene which rotten other ingredients, can help in reducing the wastage of food. We can avoid food spoilage by keeping our fridge organized so that we can clearly see foods and know what we have and what not. A good way to stock our fridge is by using the FIFO method, which stands for "first in, first out."

3. Preserving food:
   Making pickles, fermenting it and preserving are all methods we can use to make food last longer, thus reducing waste. After cutting vegetables, which we usually throw it in the dustbin, we can use those edible parts to make pickle.

4. Not trying to be a perfectionist:
    We usually try to make food look perfect. But, by making the dish look perfect, we waste a lot of ingredients and vegetables. We should use all of the vegetable or fruit which are edible. By decorating dish, we throw a lot or use a less of much of ingredient, which results in wastage.

5. Saving the leftover and eating the skin, stems, and roots:
   There are many vegetables which we can eat as a whole, which contains a large amount of vitamin, fiber, minerals, and antioxidants. For example, apple peels contain triterpenoids which can cure cancer. Even the outer layers of carrot, potato, mango, cucumber, and many are edible and contain lots of nutrients. It reduces the wastage and also economical.

6. Saving seed: 
  Saving seeds of fruits, spices and vegetables can help in protecting natural resources and will keep us away from buying extra grocery. We can dry those seeds, plant them in our garden and grow them. This healthy process will produce a lot of resources where we don't have to buy from shops and will also help in saving money. Other than buying preserved food from shops and throwing them, we can give some time to grow plants and have healthy food. It is good for our health because we can grow pesticide-free rather than having chemicals which is harmful.
   There are endless ways we can reduce, reuse and recycle our food waste. With a small amount of effort, we can cut our food waste dramatically, save money and time, and save our Mother Nature.

  Throwing away food is like stealing from the table of those who are poor and hungry.
-Pope Francis