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less waste, more taste: maximize your produce
azsustainably.com — Tons of produce is wasted each year. Most people lose 1/3 of the produce they buy to spoilage. Here are some tips on how to maximize your produce - find the fresh stuff, keep it fresh!
veganhedgehog- 499 diggs
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- domfosnz, on 05/21/2008, -2/+9I have halved my families weekly waste over the last 2 months by applying these principles.
Two more tips when you buy groceries:
1. Make sure the waste composts.
2. Make sure the packaging recycles.- CodeCobalt, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2Depends on what the packaging is for recycling. Plastic, you want it to be recyclable, if its paper simply throw it out and try to buy unbleached.
- stutimandal, on 05/21/2008, -2/+7I'd love to buy from local Farmer's market, but they are 3 times as expensive, even though they don't have to worry about rent, phone, customer service, and all such issues. The article seems to suggest otherwise.
- chanop, on 05/21/2008, -1/+7All the farmers markets I go to are much much cheaper than in Grocery stores. Better price, better products. I'm sure it depends exactly where you are. I'm in an agriculture rich part of NY (Hudson Valley), so everything is local.
- Tyr7BE, on 05/21/2008, -0/+4Agreed. I can go to the farmer's market, spend $20, and come back with more than I can carry. By contrast, the same amount will cost me around $70 at the grocery store. If it's a real actual farmer's market (and not, as someone so aptly put, a 'yuppie' market), you'll be able to get a huuuuge bucket of fresh tomatoes / cucumbers / asparagus / strawberries for $2.
But again, I'm in a farm belt in Southern Ontario so YMMV. - stutimandal, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1I may be going to the wrong one. And I am in east bay, california. May be there are no farmers around.
- Tyr7BE, on 05/21/2008, -0/+4Agreed. I can go to the farmer's market, spend $20, and come back with more than I can carry. By contrast, the same amount will cost me around $70 at the grocery store. If it's a real actual farmer's market (and not, as someone so aptly put, a 'yuppie' market), you'll be able to get a huuuuge bucket of fresh tomatoes / cucumbers / asparagus / strawberries for $2.
- beerncheese, on 05/21/2008, -0/+4Ditto, chanop. By the way, stutimandal, it helps to know exactly what is in season when you go to the farmer's market. Don't buy asparagus in August (at least here in Wisconsin) or tomatoes in May. The in-season stuff is cheaper, better tasting, and better ecologically than anything you buy at the grocery store.
If all you have in your city is yuppie/expensive markets, then, sorry. Real shame. - Light11, on 05/21/2008, -0/+3buy from the farmer not someone who buys from the farmer. you will be able to know everythign about the food you are eating. where its from, did they use pesticides, how long it took to grow, what type is it, whered you get the seed, and the list goes on. i would pay a premium for that. mind you ive never seem 3x more expensive, ever. it may be a few cents more but its worth it.
- philodygmn, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1Are you sure you're not talking about an organic-only market in comparison with conventional supermarket prices?
- chanop, on 05/21/2008, -1/+7All the farmers markets I go to are much much cheaper than in Grocery stores. Better price, better products. I'm sure it depends exactly where you are. I'm in an agriculture rich part of NY (Hudson Valley), so everything is local.
- life38, on 05/21/2008, -1/+3I have been pushing the education of people on how to preserve food. Canning allows for all food sources to be preserve much longer.
- veganhedgehog, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2Regarding stutimandal's comment: I agree that some farmer's markets do jack up the prices, however, there are vendors/farmers where you will find big savings - not everyone prices the same way and if they are at a location where it is viewed as a luxury niche market like a more upscale neighborhood as opposed to the inner city or middle class suburbs they will tend to inflate prices. My experience with the CSA we go through (Crooked Sky Farms) allows us to save money and buy locally. We would be spending so much more on organic produce in the grocery store. That is not to say all CSA's will save you money either, you have to shop around just like with anything else but regardless of price, your food should be more fresh when grown locally.
- redcolumbine, on 05/21/2008, -0/+5I'd like to buy from the farmer's market if I weren't at my day job when it was taking place!
- gotterdammerung, on 05/21/2008, -0/+3Most of the farmer's markets I've heard of have weekend hours - usually with even more vendors present, due to the increase in customers. If that doesn't work, the area you live in might have a CSA (community supported agriculture) program, where you can get a box of fresh, local, organic produce mailed to you each week for most of the year.
- sodade, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1We subscribe to one of those box a week things, but I find it to be expensive and you have to work hard to plan the use of everything you get.
- gotterdammerung, on 05/21/2008, -0/+3Most of the farmer's markets I've heard of have weekend hours - usually with even more vendors present, due to the increase in customers. If that doesn't work, the area you live in might have a CSA (community supported agriculture) program, where you can get a box of fresh, local, organic produce mailed to you each week for most of the year.
- natdowner, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1This is definitely something I've been more concerned about lately. Buying more local produce, stuff that's actually in season and trying not to waste. It's kind of disturbing if you look at all the food we throw out.
- aidave, on 05/21/2008, -0/+3Start composting.
- maddvibe, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1Sometimes you just forget you have fresh produce and it goes bad, sometimes it's just laziness. I like the buy less more often, maybe you just get a couple days worth. I think that makes it easier not to forget about it.
- Matt2k, on 05/21/2008, -0/+3Buying at the local farmer's market, or shopping every couple days means I spend a lot of gas driving across town. A box of slim jims lasts years.
I did start a garden though
I hate driving. I wish I could grow steaks. And beer. Corn and green beans is OK I guess.- matthewf01, on 05/21/2008, -1/+2Steaktree!
- Tyr7BE, on 05/21/2008, -2/+1Unless you're one of those guys with a hummer or SUV, you're probably going to save more than you spend going to the farmer's market once per week.
- dho331, on 05/21/2008, -9/+1all you have to do is not be Al Gore, then you don't ***** care.
- beerncheese, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2Handy list! I almost printed it to put on my fridge when I realized...black and white printer.
- mal1964, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1That grocery ad made me hungry!
- parkernicky50, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1nice post
- rtphokie, on 05/21/2008, -1/+5Here's a tip that is conspicuously missing:
Dont buy more than you need. - skidooer, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1That corn plant in the photo is not sweet corn. I pity the fool that buys a cob of that at a farmer's market.
- mogebier, on 05/21/2008, -0/+2This is like that commercial for the Green Bags. 1/3 of waste?? WTF do you people do to have so much waste?? Do you buy $200 worth at once or something?? I almost have no waste at all, and hardly anything ever spoils on me. My biggest spoiler is lettuce and when my wife decided she needs a whole bag of apples and them forgets they are in the crisper.
Really, WTF do people do to have so much things spoiling??
EAT THE DAMN FOOD YOU BUY. That's easy :) - JointVenture, on 05/21/2008, -0/+1Farmers markets need to set up delivery service. They could canvass entire neighborhoods instead of everyone driving to them. The could also do it with a propane driven truck.
I know Ive run out for a quart of milk or a stick of butter or just to get something I forgot. - tatis44, on 05/21/2008, -1/+1The capitalist society we live on is causing all this waste of food and good resources. since I moved to America I haven't see people eat so much and waste so much food!, people in other countries eat there last slice of bread and avoid to waste good food. Also, supermarkets do not care how much of their produce gets spoiled because they only care about how much money they make. Some supermarkets give expired food to non-profits like food no bombs, but most of them don't.
please keep the fight, ask your city to install recycling binds in every conner, etc.. and please eat your last slice of bread!.
http://dailyradical.org/ - yardloveranne, on 05/21/2008, -0/+0Great article! There is information we can all use. Maybe you can't get to a farmer's market, maybe you don't want to drive to the store every day. Use the tips that work for you. Every little bit helps. I joined a CSA for the first time, and just in the past 2 weeks, we are eating more fresh produce and less, um, other stuff! And I'd rather buy it from a local farmer, who can hopefully stay in business rather than selling the farm to be turned into yet another asphalt covered, treeless neighborhood.
- ericnicolaas, on 05/22/2008, -0/+0Another tip:
Cut as much sugar from your diet as possible. Sugar doesn't give your body anything valuable, but growing it takes up cropland that could be used to grow actual food. - dob3rman, on 05/23/2008, -0/+0A nice article on GM food: http://pablosavard.com/blog/?p=53.
http://www.savetheplanet.ca
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