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pastis
Joined: 21 Jul 2006
Posts: 82
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 Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 11:49 am Post subject: |
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| wabisabi365 wrote: |
quote/Surprising you may think for a nation that once prided itself on thrift, a Zen-like self-denial and the ability to turn scraps into gastronomy of the highest order. Some say it is, ironically, because of these historic practices that Japan has the food waste mountain that it does./end quote
This is just a snippet from a larger article entitled "What a waste � Japan faces up to food waste mountain". https://www.just-food.com/article.aspx?id=94259&lk=s
Reading this just doesn't startle me anymore when I witness the crazy amounts of packaging and perfectly good food being thrown out everyday. The article states it's not just a Japanese problem; however, the country is at the top of the list of guilty offenders.
I don't think I'm offering anything new here. How many times have you or a foreign friend commented on the waste? I think, however, that it goes way beyond the packaging. It's ingrained in the Japanese mentality that "not perfect" = "garbage" and that means a large amount of the fruit and vegetables you get to see at the market were carefully chosen at the cost of a lot of perfectly good stuff being binned. I do hope that what the other poster wrote about it being put to other uses is actually happening. Why do I have this niggling feeling that it really isn't though...?
Poor OP. Your thread has had a thorough thrashing. My advice to you? Lay off prunes and wash those veggies!
ws365 |
I couldn't access that article. If you expect me to believe that Japan wastes more food than the U.S. though (which wastes something like half of all food), as the article suggested, then forget it... that's pretty hard to believe.
Anyway, yes I know the Japanese are very wasteful as a society (same as any developed nation)... but we were talking about supermarket produce, namely fruit which is grown in small amounts and is quite expensive. I have no idea what the stats are on that.
As an aside, how bad for the environment is food waste? |
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wabisabi365
Joined: 04 Feb 2007
Posts: 111
Location: japan
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| Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:07 pm Post subject: |
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| As an aside, how bad for the environment is food waste? |
Methane? |
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wabisabi365
Joined: 04 Feb 2007
Posts: 111
Location: japan
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| Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:16 pm Post subject: |
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I thought I'd type in "methane" and "asia" and see what came up. This was one of the first articles. Interestingly enough, it's about food waste (instead of flatulent cows!)
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When the average person contemplates the issues surrounding landfills, it's doubtful they give much consideration to the tons of food that fill them.
Food biodegrades so where is the problem?
The problem, environmentalists say, is just that. When food rots, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says is 20 times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide (CO2) /end quote |
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pastis
Joined: 21 Jul 2006
Posts: 82
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| Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:23 pm Post subject: |
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| wabisabi365 wrote: |
I thought I'd type in "methane" and "asia" and see what came up. This was one of the first articles. Interestingly enough, it's about food waste (instead of flatulent cows!)
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When the average person contemplates the issues surrounding landfills, it's doubtful they give much consideration to the tons of food that fill them.
Food biodegrades so where is the problem?
The problem, environmentalists say, is just that. When food rots, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says is 20 times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide (CO2) /end quote |
Methane is oxidized in the atmosphere. It has a 'half-life' of ~7 years, where it breaks down into CO2 and water. Since the methane we're talking about comes from (plant) food, by the time it becomes CO2 it's actually carbon neutral.
Other than that, it makes a great clean-burning fuel.
The only problem is if there's too much methane in the atmosphere at once, then it is a potent greenhouse gas. Maybe the Japanese should find a large-scale way to store all that waste methane for fuel; if anyone's up to the task it's probably them  |
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wabisabi365
Joined: 04 Feb 2007
Posts: 111
Location: japan
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| Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Maybe the Japanese should find a large-scale way to store all that waste methane for fuel; if anyone's up to the task it's probably them |
Have you got any pull? Let's get the ball rolling! If Japan could lead the way in methane for fuel it could possibly compensate for all the waste that preceded it...
Anyway, to the OP, hope your stomach ails have calmed down, that your veggies and fruit are fresh, and your harvest is bountiful!
ws365 |
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chollimaspeed
Joined: 11 Sep 2007
Posts: 120
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| Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:51 pm Post subject: |
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| pastis wrote: |
| How do you know it is discarded? What evidence do you have? (as I said, I'm no farmer, but I'm wondering). How do you know they don't use the extra non "gem quality" fruit for other things, like juice, or processed foods etc. - considering the limited production and high price of fruit, it makes about zero sense for farmers not to find other uses for their leftovers. Either way, it's just fruit (100% biodegradable) so even if does end up as rubbish, it's not like it matters much (as far as the environment goes), and they don't produce much in the first place. |
Well, I have tried to find something on the net but been unable to. I did read about vegetables being disposed of in order to prevent them bringing the price down in the Yomiuri. The problems are not the same as disposing of plastic in waste tips or other nonbiodegradable nightmares but it would seem rather wasteful given that these vegetables could be exported to those with far less food. To North Korea perhaps.
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| But pretty well all supermarkets in North America, Europe and around the world throw out a ton of "edible" produce too. |
That may be. But it is a straw man in the sense that none of us have to consider the examples you posted as being the gold-standard so what is so good about being as bad as them? |
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pastis
Joined: 21 Jul 2006
Posts: 82
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| Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 2:13 pm Post subject: |
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| chollimaspeed wrote: |
| Well, I have tried to find something on the net but been unable to. I did read about vegetables being disposed of in order to prevent them bringing the price down in the Yomiuri. The problems are not the same as disposing of plastic in waste tips or other nonbiodegradable nightmares but it would seem rather wasteful given that these vegetables could be exported to those with far less food. To North Korea perhaps. |
Yes, overproduction is a phenomenon in every capitalist country. I still think fruit production is much more wasteful in the States and elsewhere though, because they produce a lot more, and that which is produced is generally of a lower quality than in Japan. My only point was that in Japan they focus on quality over quantity (again, just talking about fruit here). The cost of production is much higher in Japan for that reason above all, and until you can provide evidence that the main reason for high retail prices is that they artificially alter the supply side of the equation (i.e. disposing of a lot of fruit before it even hits the shelves), I'm going to assume otherwise.
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| But pretty well all supermarkets in North America, Europe and around the world throw out a ton of "edible" produce too. |
That may be. But it is a straw man in the sense that none of us have to consider the examples you posted as being the gold-standard so what is so good about being as bad as them? |
Not sure I follow... What did I say that was a straw man? |
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pastis
Joined: 21 Jul 2006
Posts: 82
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| Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 2:17 pm Post subject: |
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| wabisabi365 wrote: |
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| Maybe the Japanese should find a large-scale way to store all that waste methane for fuel; if anyone's up to the task it's probably them |
Have you got any pull? |
Alas, no. I'll work on that though and get back to you |
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chollimaspeed
Joined: 11 Sep 2007
Posts: 120
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| Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 2:23 pm Post subject: |
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The article that wabisabi linked to:
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Japan was recently found to throw away more food than any other country in the world. And, being the world's biggest food importer, it also topped a recent food miles shame list. Michael Fitzpatrick reports on what the government and the food industry are doing to tackle such problems.
In Britain we throw away �20bn (US$36.4bn) worth of food each year. That is �420 per person each and every year. But this figure pales in comparison to the world's biggest waster of precious foodstuffs - Japan, where a massive �11trn (US$101.6bn) worth of food is thrown away annually.
Surprising you may think for a nation that once prided itself on thrift, a Zen-like self-denial and the ability to turn scraps into gastronomy of the highest order. Some say it is, ironically, because of these historic practices that Japan has the food waste mountain that it does.
There can no other food-adoring nation on the face of the planet quite like Japan. Living, on the whole, extremely tough urban lifestyles, the Japanese have elevated food to one of the most immediate and greatest pleasures - open to every man, woman and child, often at affordable prices and boasting top class quality. For many, it's the one pleasure everyone can enjoy, where spaces are cramped and other treats, like a walk in the park, are largely denied Japanese city dwellers.
Prise open the average middle class fridge and you will witness delicacies shipped in from all over the world that would have a Roman emperor flush with anticipation: The soft, reproductive organs of sea urchin, caviar of all varieties, and obscure pickles nestle amongst the world's finest cheeses, pastas and oils. This is a nation that loves its food to the point of obsession and has built a vast and efficient engine to import and cultivate food to the satisfaction of the globe's pickiest eaters. However this joyful abundance of choice has many downsides.
Food miles
With a low food self-sufficiency rate, (60% of all Japan's foods are imported) Japan is experiencing a massive increase in environmental load from food imports. Marry this to the fact that traditionally a well mannered Japanese person is loathed to polish off what's put in front them - eat only till you are nearly 7/8s full goes the saying - and then add the fact that more and more Japanese are living alone and you are left with a country that fills more swill bins and dump sites with food than anyone else on earth.
Being the world's greatest food importer has also put the country on top of the Food Miles shame list compiled by UK-based Environment group Safe Alliance.
Food mileage is calculated by multiplying the transportation distance with the volume of food transported. The higher the food mileage the larger the load placed on the global environment for the sake of a more varied diet for a nation's population.
Japan's index in 2001 was 900 billion ton-kilometres, more than three times that of the United States, which has more than twice Japan's population. "Not surprising then that the Japanese today have a diet that is more extravagant than the diet of any royalty of any nation of any period in history," a senior agriculture ministry official told the Asahi Newspaper recently.
Government tries to tackle the problem
To tackle this momentous waste problem the Japanese government introduced a Food Recycling law in 2001. Under the Food Recycling Law, all food-related businesses must cut food waste by over 20% by fiscal 2006. This law and increasing pressure from consumers in Japan for greener, ethical food, has spurred companies on to tackle the problems of food wastage.
In homes, 7.7% of all food is discarded, including food tossed out for reasons ranging from expiration of the consumption date to simply preparing more than the family can consume. Restaurants and dining halls, by contrast, are the least wasteful at 3.6%.
According to farm ministry estimates, about 10 million tons of food waste is discarded by businesses annually. About half of the 4 million tons ditched by manufacturing plants was recycled, while the reminder of the remaining 6 million tons from the foodservice sector was burnt or dispatched to landfill sites.
Slow rate of change
The worst offenders are perhaps Japan's legion of convenience stores, where many youngsters and singles do their food shopping. Around �10,000 to �15,000 worth of lunch boxes are thrown away daily from each shop, that is if the managers can't find homeless people to give them away to. Multiplied by 40,823 konbini in Japan, that brings the waste, in retail terms, to a staggering �220bn per year.
This level of profligacy is highlighted by a report in the Japanese weekly magazine Shukan. Its economics reporter recently pointed out that the volume of food discarded by convenience stores and supermarkets because they were past their sell by dates - an estimated 6 million tons per year - is equivalent to roughly 80% of the total volume of food assistance currently being supplied to developing countries, or enough to feed 50 million people for a year. Transposing calories into monetary values, Japan's food losses are roughly equal to the total annual output of its agricultural and fishery industries.
The food industry and retailers complain that to recycle food they first have to gain the cooperation of willing recyclers and farmers to buy the finished product - fertilizer. Change has been slow.
The Japan Food Service Association, which serves 760 restaurants, had been studying ways to establish a food recycling system since 1993. It took over ten years to kick start an initiative and last year it finally set up a recycling factory for its members.
Top convenience store chain FamilyMart, meanwhile, has introduced strict food inventory controls for its 6,045 convenience stores to limit food waste from the outset. Over 400 FamilyMart stores in Tokyo and other areas, including Kyoto, have their food waste collected for recycling.
Right direction
Still, it is a tiny portion of what Japan likes to give the heave-ho to from the kitchen and the government hasn't even started yet to do something about the huge waste from domestic kitchens. However Tokyo remains optimistic that it can tackle the country's swill mountain.
Toshiaki Nagato of the environment ministry's recycling promotion division had this to say to the Asahi newspaper: "Food recycling is still in its initial phase, and we believe things are going in the right direction." What the government plans to do about the nation's embarrassing food mileage rate he didn't say. Good news for food exporters, bad news for the planet.
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chollimaspeed
Joined: 11 Sep 2007
Posts: 120
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| Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 2:27 pm Post subject: |
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To be honest, I posted before reading. Some of the article is palpably absurd. What "average middle class fridge" contains caviar of all varities?
I don't think many of them would make a Roman Emperor "flush"? |
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pastis
Joined: 21 Jul 2006
Posts: 82
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| Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 3:46 pm Post subject: |
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| chollimaspeed wrote: |
To be honest, I posted before reading. Some of the article is palpably absurd. What "average middle class fridge" contains caviar of all varities?
I don't think many of them would make a Roman Emperor "flush"? |
Yup, that was a pretty flakey article... some of the points I agree with, but overall I don't trust the data (which is uncited), and much of the anecdotal evidence given is just ludicrous (i.e. as you pointed out with your caviar example). For one thing, most single people I know don't even have food in their fridges, they just buy enough each day to whip up a meal, or else eat out.
Bottom line is there's no way in hell Japan wastes more food than the U.S., which has a higher per capita GDP, more than double the population and produces most of its own food (in massive quantities), as well as being a net exporter. Food is not only more abundant, but substantially cheaper in the U.S., so to me it would intuitively make sense that there's going to be more waste. |
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pastis
Joined: 21 Jul 2006
Posts: 82
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| Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 4:03 pm Post subject: |
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Here's another article:
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| The new study, from the University of Arizona (UA) in Tucson, indicates that a shocking forty to fifty per cent of all food ready for harvest [in the U.S.] never gets eaten. |
http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/news/ng.asp?n=56340-half-of-us
So basically the U.S. wastes half its food, and has twice the population of Japan...
As an interesting aside, perhaps you've heard of 'freegans' in the States, people who just forage for their food in cities. Apparently they manage to salvage a lot of good stuff, all of it free... seems kind of interesting (no doubt they'd have a field day in Tokyo as well).
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�I have pity for people who have not figured out this lifestyle,� he said. �I am able to take long vacations from work, I have all kinds of consumer goods, and I eat a really healthy diet of really wonderful food: white asparagus and cactus fruit, three different kinds of mushrooms and four different kinds of pre-cut salad. And I�m just thinking of what is in my refrigerator right now.
�Essentially, the sky�s the limit. We found flat-screen TVs, working boom-boxes and stereos. I have put together most of my wardrobe. Last year�s designer clothing in perfect shape is discarded because it�s no longer fashionable, so I wear a lot of designer labels.� |
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article596764.ece |
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