Out of the garbage, into your mouth: Food wasted in Canada enough to feed everyone for months, group says

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – How much food do you end up tossing out?

It is probably nothing compared to the amount that is thrown away or lost right across the supply chain every year in Canada, most of it before it even gets to your kitchen.

The CEO of a non-profit trying to divert some of that perfectly edible food to people who need it believes it is a sign the system is broken.

“We did some research to really understand how much food is being lost and wasted across Canada and we learned it is 58 per cent of all the food produced for Canadians, including imports,” says Lori Nikkel with Second Harvest. “Some of that is unavoidable, but 32 per cent is avoidable. That’s 11.2 metric tons, which is enough to feed every Canadian for five months for free.”

The losses come right across the supply chain — at the farm level, during manufacturing and processing, and at retail.

“Everyone hears a lot about retail loss, but it’s actually nominal — just five per cent,” Nikkel explains. “It’s just that people see it and it’s at the highest value there so it seems like a lot more money. The volume of loss is actually much higher further up the supply chain.”

To reduce that waste, Nikkel believes the industry has to commit to reducing losses at the primary sources.

“There is a real economic benefit to not having food waste. There’s a social benefit, there’s an environmental benefit but you will also save money as a business.”

If nothing can be done to avoid wasted food, then Nikkel is asking businesses to donate it, which is where groups like Second Harvest come in.

“There’s no reason people shouldn’t be eating this food. That’s its intended purpose. If you can’t sell it, there are many organizations that can use this food. We’ve found there are over 81,000 non-profits in Canada using food in their programming somehow. We know we have the places that can use it, we just need to get it to them,” says Nikkel.

Second Harvest operates FoodRescue.ca — an online platform in B.C. and Ontario — that allows a food donor to post what they have to offer.

“A social service organization can then register and say they’ll take it. It’s very, very simple — the ‘eharmony’ of food!” she laughs.

Besides filling bellies with food that would otherwise go uneaten, the donations also allow organizations to spend their funds on other priorities.

“Why spend money on food when it exists? Spend it on what you need. If you need a social worker, spend it on that. Buy soccer balls or learning materials. There’s so much food that nobody needs to be hungry in Canada or, quite frankly, the world. It’s critical for people experiencing food insecurity.”

Nikkel argues it is also critical for the environment.

“If food loss or waste in landfills were a country, the greenhouse gas it emits would make it the third largest in the world, second only to China and the U.S. We are all seeing the devastating effects of climate change on our environment. To me, reducing food waste is one of the easiest ways to fix this.”

Individuals also have a role to play, according to Nikkel. While Second Harvest focuses on business-to-business, it does offer tools and educational resources for consumers.

“The best advice we give people is that ‘best before’ dates don’t mean ‘bad after.’ We have created a monster with best before dates. We are all smart people and these dates on products are conservative, so ignore them,” she argues.

Nikkel says there are only five types of food that actually require an expiry date label in Canada — baby formula and other human milk substitutes, nutritional supplements, meal replacements, pharmacist-sold foods for very low-energy diets and formulated liquid diets.

“It has to do with the nutrients in those products. Everything else is simply ‘best before’ so if you think something is going to to go off, throw it in the freezer. Freezers are amazing things,” she says, adding FoodRescue.ca has a tool that shows how long food will really last.

-With files from Lasia Kretzel