I attended a dinner on Monday to launch the 'waste free' campaign here in The Netherlands. Tons of tips about food waste were shared, and the food was really lovely too. It was prepared by a Dutch cook who is known for cooking completely waste-free with only local ingredients. For example, the peels of vegetables were used to make a tasty vegetable stock, leftover cake became a delicious crumble dessert, and even (!!) the little partitions in between the walnut halves were used to add flavour to a gravy. Everything was delicious and healthy and made according to her principle: '0% waste, 100% taste'.

A waste free society

During the dinner, many guests were interviewed who are actively working on creating a waste-free society. People behind initiatives like a restaurant which cooks solely with surplus products unsold by local supermarkets and other producers. An app which lets you buy a 'surprise box' filled with unsold fresh goodies of the day for a fraction of the price. A company that creates soups out of vegetables which otherwise would be thrown away because they are either too small, too fat, or too crooked to sell. It was so inspirational to hear their stories!

Worldwide, we waste about a third of the entire food production. A third!! Food loss occurs in all segments of the value chain, but it is the end consumer (us!) who is responsible for a fat chuck of worldwide food waste. Here in the Netherlands, we throw away an average of 41 kg of perfectly fine food per person per year! Throwing away food doesn't just cost us money, the energy that goes in to the production of the products (cultivation, packaging, transport, refrigeration) goes to waste as well.

What can we do to start making a difference? First of all, I think it is simply important to become aware of the problem, so you can think twice before you throw away food. But here are some ideas we were given during the dinner:

Tips about food waste

• If you are not interested in leftovers, it is important to make sure you prepare exact amounts. I personally love leftovers. I use them for Bram's lunch the next day, or Sara and Pim eat them before their afternoon sports. Or I put them in the children's lunch boxes. We also have 'leftover night' every now and then, and eat what we need to finish. (I bought vintage fondue plates from the '70s for this purpose -- every segment of the plate is filled with a little leftover dish. Fun!)

• Another good tip I heard during the dinner is to put the temperature of your fridge on 4ºC. I was given a special fridge thermometer, which I used, and I discovered that the temperature of our fridge is set 2 degrees too high! Also, it is good to know that the shell life of pantry products is often longer than the 'best before' date indicates. Use your senses to judge if food is still ok. (Perishable foods obviously need to be consumed before the use by date.)

• Lastly, check your stock before you go to the supermarket. Look in your fridge so you know what you have and what needs to be finished. Make a grocery list -- it can even be helpful to make a meal plan for the week.

So tell me -- how waste free are you? I personally think I am not super bad, but there are definitely areas where I can improve. Like the fridge! It can become a real mess... Things are pushed to the back, or not labeled well. And I forget about them and consequently have to throw them away. What a waste! So in the next weeks, I'm going to work on a good fridge system. I'll report back!

xxx Esther