It's no secret that people waste a lot of food. But it doesn't have to be this way.
A popular Instagram reel by the community ssustainab.ly shows an easy and creative way to save your vegetables instead of throwing them out.
"Throwing away old vegetables is like throwing money directly into the bin," the Instagrammer says.
The scoop
The video starts with a woman chopping broccoli into small pieces. We then see her chopping an onion.
"Whatever's left in the fridge at the end of the week I chop up as finely as I can," she says.
The narrator then puts the chopped broccoli and onions into a large pan and adds mushrooms, garlic, raw rice, lentils, and water. She places the lid onto the pan and the following image is of a nice cooked veggie mix.
How's it helping?
Food waste is a major issue. In the U.S., between 30% and 40% of all food produced is wasted. On a global level, about 1.4 billion tons of food is thrown out each year.
This is quite unfortunate when we consider that 690 million people went hungry in 2019. More than 345 million people are facing high levels of food insecurity in 2023. That is more than double the number in 2020.
But food waste is also a contributor to another major problem, our warming planet. In fact, between 8% to 10% of global plant-warming emissions are linked to unconsumed produce (wasted food), according to a UN report.
By consuming the foods you buy instead of letting it go into the trash, you are actively reducing the amount of food waste on the planet.
What's everyone saying?
Many found the advice helpful, with comments like "I love this idea!" One commenter disagreed with one of the Instagrammer's methods, while still ending on a positive note: "Please cook the rice and never not wash it before. Still looks great, keep it up."
Another person provided an additional idea to prevent food waste: "I like to freeze veggie scraps and vegetables that are about to go bad. I put it in a clear freezer bag and when it's full I use it to make veggie stock."
Regardless of the method, preventing food waste is generally a good thing.
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