Think twice: Fruit waste

34 / THINK TWICE

Fruit is an onboard staple, whether it’s a little pot of sliced apple or a seasonal platter, but is it a sustainable option? Chris Beech of the UK’s Nothing Wasted Club tells Julie Baxter why you might want to think twice before you buy…

Experts currently estimate that the world wastes about 1.3 billion tonnes of fresh food each year.

Wasted fruit is a huge part of that whether it be fruits disgarded because they are too big, or too small; damaged fruit or fruit delayed en route, perhaps stuck in a storm out at sea; or simply fruit over produced by farmers who had a better harvest than they had expected with no market to support that success.

During the process of production (harvesting, handling, processing and packaging) around 75 million tonnes of fruit and veg is lost. The way we deal with that has an impact felt right across the globe.

Chris Beech, of the UK's Nothing Wasted Club is on a mission to change this by shining a light on the issues. He says: "We live in a global community where it really is everybody’s responsibility to help reduce waste and figure out WHY this waste is happening."

Track and trace

He believes key to this is understanding the nutritional value of the ingredients you use, tracking their traceability and scrutinizing the supply

whether it be fruits disgarded because they packaging) around 75 million tonnes of fruit chain involved. By way of example he chain involved. By way of example he explains: "Working closely with farmers and the fruit and vegetable suppliers to my home city, London, Understand the I discovered thousands nutritional value of the of tonnes of fruit and ingredients you use. Track their traceability and scrutinize the supply veg was going to landfill because it couldn’t be sold. "You might think chain involved that it’s fine to bury food in the ground, it’s organic, right, and will just rot away. Well, unfortunately, not really. The process of layering food waste in the ground creates methane - which has a global warming potential 21 times greater than that of carbon dioxide. In the UK, methane from landfills represents 40% of all the nation’s methane emissions." He accepts it is not always easy to make

the right buying decisions but it is possible if you think twice. "I now work closely with the farmers and traders that supply my city, and take all excess ingredients from London before they head to landfill through an organization I formed for just this purpose - the Nothing Wasted Club. "We take the ‘liberated’ fruit to our carbon neutral pressery and cold press it. We press, squeeze, dry and freeze all the ingredients into products that can be utilised in an environmental and commercial way."

Make a change

By focusing in on small changes onboard hospitality can become part of a fuller sustainability story. Some airlines, rail and cruise companies are already supporting these efforts. The Nothing Wasted Club is, for example, is working with British Airways as part of the airline's public strategy toward net zero.

Wake up to waste

Currently the world wastes about 1.3 billion tonnes of fresh food each year. That would fill 68 million double decker buses. Bumper to bumper that would create a traffic queue to circle the earth 21 times.

Check the journey

Food waste occurs throughout the production process: at harvesting, through handling, in processing and at packaging. It's estimated that around 75 million tonnes of fruit and veg is lost even before it gets to the consumer.

Rotten endings

Fruit and veg put to landfill does not just rot away. The process of layering food waste in the ground creates methane - which has a global warming potential 21 times greater than that of carbon dioxide.

Think about bottles

Opting for reusable glass juice bottles can save around 761g in CO2 emissions per serving. That is roughly the same carbon emissions produced by driving two miles in a car.

Find positive partners

Nothing Wasted Club is tackling food waste and helping reduce carbon emissions by producing their drinks at a carbon neutral facility, The Pressery Group, which supports a number of challenger brands. One of these brands is Luhv Drinks, a science based range of functional drinks made purely from plants, created in a collaboration with King’s College London and designed to help explain natural ingredients and their functions in an easier way. Beech says: "Working with planet positive partners is the best way to make a change and we’re proof that small steps can start to disrupt the status quo for the better. With small changes we can make healthier and more carbon- friendly decisions that make a difference to our own health and our planet." •

THINK TWICE / 35

Do your bit to reduce the amount of food waste that ends up in landfills daily by seeking out zeroemissions suppliers. Find out what happens to all the ingredients you buy and establish what processes exist in your menu planning and catering systems to limit waste. This way you actively work to save the planet while serving the people.