10 articles to eliminate food loss of household vegetables and reduce food costs

Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture conducted a food loss fact-finding survey of about 700 citizen monitors in the winter of 2016 and the summer of 2017. As a result, about half of the food that was left untouched at home was fresh vegetables such as cucumbers, lettuce, and cabbage. Many of the reasons are "deterioration of quality".

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has also conducted statistical surveys on food loss on a regular basis, and similar results were obtained in the survey conducted in 2014 (vegetables account for about half of the food loss that occurs at home). Has been obtained.

According to the results of a survey conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, "vegetables" had the highest loss in all households, including single-person households, two-person households, and households with three or more people. The average of all survey subjects is 47.7%. Next is "fruits". Next is "cooked processed food".

How can we reduce food loss in household vegetables? I summarized it in 10 articles.

1. Don't buy too much

The results of this survey were also reported in the Kobe Shimbun (April 21, 2018), saying, "Kobe City will consider concretely at a meeting of experts in the future. It is possible to do something like that. "

On the other hand, when I read the summary of the results of the food loss survey released by Kobe City, it says, "The loss of fresh vegetables cannot be reduced only by devising preservation." It points out that even if the storage period is extended, it may be discarded if it is not finally used up.

When it comes to the large amount of vegetable waste, one of the concrete measures is "preservation method" (enlightenment). Of course, this is also an effective method. However, I think it may not be possible to use it because I bought too much in the first place.

Of the 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) to be achieved worldwide by 2030, which was adopted at the United Nations Summit in September 2015, the 12th is "Responsibility to create and responsibility to use". is. From the mass production and mass consumption so far, it is required to "make and use an appropriate amount".

It's easy to avoid buying too much, so make a menu memo and a shopping memo and go shopping. According to the survey results of Kobe City, buying things at home without checking inventory and buying things with a long expiration date have led to an increase in the number of disposals. When you make a shopping memo, you will naturally check the inventory. If you do it every week, it becomes a habit, and it becomes easier for you to get into your mind about what is where and how much, and to stay conscious of "I have to use that (food)".

2. "Put it in, put it out"

"If you put it in, put it out" is the basic. Many people buy it and put it in the fridge as it is. Instead of leaving it in, put out (use) what you put in. The refrigerator is not a magic box that will last forever. It's a place to "temporarily store". Do not overfill the refrigerator, but circulate it.

This article from the Kobe Shimbun is featured on Twitter, saying that "to reduce food loss in the refrigerator," put it in and put it out "is the basis. It was written. The article didn't say "put it in, put it out", but I was happy to think that the article I wrote might have permeated the Yahoo! editorial department.

Reference article:

Utilize without waste with the disaster prevention food "put in and put out" mechanism

7th year 3.11 Efforts to reduce food loss by "discarding disaster prevention stockpile food without eating" to "eating deliciously"

"If you put it in, put it out" is a word that came out when I was working for a food company, co-authored with Atsushi Kato of the Japan Toilet Lab, and held a symposium. Many people are very interested in "eating (putting in)" but not in "excreting (putting out)". Nowadays, attention has been focused on toilets, but at that time, it was not as much as it is now, and it has been enlightening that "the circulation of putting in and taking out is important".

The work is the same, when you input (put in), you output (put out).

3. How to buy is "modest"

According to the results of a survey conducted by Kobe City, single elderly households have a lot of leftover food, and the main reason is "too much to make and too much" (53%). When I gave a food loss course to general consumers, a question and answer session said, "I buy whole cabbage because it's cheaper to buy it, but I can't use it and it rots." "Milk is on the product shelves. Take the one with the new date from behind, otherwise it will be useless. " Both were living alone in their 70s. "Why don't you buy half or a quarter of the cabbage?", But he said, "The whole cabbage is cheaper."

According to a survey by Kobe City, "48.7% of fresh vegetables were discarded", and cucumbers, lettuce, cabbage, bean sprouts, cherry tomatoes, carrots, radishes, onions, etc. were the most common in summer and winter. And that.

Many cucumbers, carrots, onions, etc. are sold in bulk, and lettuce, cabbage, and radish are sold in their entirety. On the other hand, there are also sold one by one, half of cabbage, one quarter, and one quarter of radish. Selling one or half may be expensive, but as a result, it is better to buy less than to throw it away because it cannot be used up. Buy only what you need.

4. Make good use of cut vegetables

Sometimes my relatives send me vegetables made in the field. I will use it as efficiently as possible, but the one that is hard to reach is "pumpkin". It's a hassle to cut, and once you cut it, you have to use it all, or at least prepare it. I've been doing that since I heard that even hard pumpkins can be easily cut with a kitchen knife when placed in the microwave. But I don't think I'll buy the whole pumpkin. At the supermarket, there is a cut pumpkin, so I choose that one.

For shredded cabbage to accompany pork ginger, if you have time, you will buy the cabbage itself, but if you do not have time to spare, or if you plan to go on a business trip or travel soon afterwards, buy shredded cabbage on the market. Use up.

If you use cut vegetables flexibly and skillfully while watching your own schedule and your family's schedule, you will not waste them.

5. In order from the one with the shortest shelf life

Among the vegetable compartments in the refrigerator, there are long-lasting and short-lived ones, so use the short ones first. Ripe tomatoes and other ripe foods are sold at reduced prices, so use those first.

In one vegetable, there are parts that are easily damaged and parts that are not. For example, in the case of green onions, the green part becomes sina first and is easily damaged. Use the green part first. Chop celery leaves and add them to soups and smoothies.

Kobe City is an official website, and it will last a long time with a little effort ♪ -Why don't you start? Be kind to your wallet and the earth! Instead of putting the vegetables you bought in the refrigerator as they are, we are introducing that you can make them last longer by taking a little effort. For example, bean sprouts are easy to hold if they are heated in a microwave oven or boiled for a while. There seems to be a way to "immerse it in water", but since vitamin C contained in bean sprouts is a water-soluble vitamin that dissolves in water, I think it's better to microwave it or boil it quickly.

"Deliciousness long-lasting preservation leaflet" issued by Kobe City

6. If you buy it, "a little effort"

It's easy to get damaged if you buy it and go straight to the refrigerator. Transfer to a storage container. Leafy vegetables quickly become savory, but the shelf life is different with just "a little effort" such as wrapping them in moistened newspaper or replacing them with vegetables storage bags.

7. Transform with "house salvage"

Sunny lettuce has a lot of leaves, so it may be left over. At that time, use it for another dish and transform it. Broccoli cores are easy to throw away, but when fried they are chewy and delicious. At the event held on March 5, 2018, Setouchi Kitchen, broccoli was chopped into croquettes.

Since supervising the book "Green Smoothie Diet" (Nitto Shoin) released in March 2012, the author has been making vegetable smoothies almost every morning. Just mix greens and fruits (bananas and kiwis) in a blender. The leftovers and celery leaves are put in here and used up.

Even if the ingredients are not in the recipe, if there are vegetables left in the refrigerator, try using them. So to speak, it is "house salvage" (salvage means to rescue). The other day, when I made aqua pazza, there was okra left in the refrigerator, so I tried using it.

8. Measure "visualization"

In the Kobe City survey, we used the "Food Loss Diary" to record discarded food every day for four weeks. Of the approximately 900 households that offered to cooperate, 225 households said they gave up on the way, but about 700 households that responded said that the amount of waste decreased with each week.

Even if you want to lose weight, "measuring" is effective. Uny, a supermarket, has won the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award of the 5th Food Industry Wasteful Award for "visualizing" by separating garbage into 19 types and measuring each store.

Since June 2017, the author has also put the swill generated at home into a household swill dryer and weighed the front and back. The dryer is the island industry's "Crispy Cube". The number of measurements was 147. If you continue to measure, you will become more conscious of reducing garbage, which will lead to suppression of generation. According to the results of a survey conducted by Kobe City, "By being aware of the amount of food loss and behaviors that are likely to lead to food loss, we have taken measures to reduce it, and it is thought that this has led to the reduction."

Reference article:

Results of using the garbage dryer 105 times ... Thinking about waste reduction measures of local governments from the national waste emission ranking

9. Grow vegetables and nurture love

Even in the balcony garden, when you grow vegetables, you will feel love. The author grows bean seedlings. If you use the bean sprouts you bought for stir-fry and water them without throwing away the roots, they will grow gradually.

Even in the Ministry of the Environment project to reduce the residue of school meals, there are cases where elementary school students eat the vegetables they grow themselves. However, not everyone will be able to do that. In that case, efforts to meet the producer and get to know the producer are effective in school lunch. I think this can be said for homes as well.

Reference article:

Ministry of the Environment 2017 Waste generated by the implementation of school lunch 3R promotion model project report "Food loss and education for children"

10, make dried fish

This may be difficult. On a nice day, let it dry outside.

Moisture is one of the reasons why vegetables are easily damaged. By drying, the shelf life will be longer.

that's all. Here, I will summarize the 10 articles again.

If you start with one, if not all ten, you will reduce food loss for your household vegetables, and as a result, your household will be cheaper.

Reference article:

5 points on how to buy and use soaring vegetables cheaply and use them up without waste