encourage restaurants to use sustainable food waste practices?
The mass amount of food waste in Canada is avoidable, yet it’s handled in a way that wastes energy, increases carbon dioxide emissions and propagates a cycle of unsustainable food consumption and production.
Food purchases made by restaurant owners are often based on price and convenience, so many choose cheaper, imported goods that are less nutrient-dense and come heavily packaged. Most current models within the food service industry focus on monetary gain -- a business model supported by Calgary’s present capitalist economic structure. Sustainable consumption and production practices strive to make the process of feeding our communities more efficient, and Canadian kitchens play an integral role as a result of their mass amount of avoidable food waste. Restaurants have the power to educate individuals, spread values of sustainability and become leaders in alternative business models to help reduce food waste and evolve our current unsustainable food systems.
My passion for food sustainability ignited when I learned how our current food system impacts our environment and the health of all living beings. Although change in individual behaviours is an important driver of innovation, it’s also critical to empower food service businesses to shift the processes accepted in our culture. I hope to inspire change within the current norms of the local food service industry, which are unsustainable in many aspects -- including food waste practices.