I don't know if there's a newer or more compelling way to say it: We waste 40 percent of our crops because they're not the right shape or size or color. Nearly half of everything. And that's before it hits our supermarkets and then our homes, where we throw away a further seven million tons of food every year.
So, when I tell you that London-based food entrepreneur Hannah McCollum turns waste vegetables into hummus and that's she's crowdfunding a campaign to scale her production up to utilize even more unwanted veggies, you might wonder exactly how much dip she'd have to make before putting even the slightest dint in such an excess of waste.
"I'm doing my part," she says. "But it's only a small scale. I know there are farmers with crops that I can take and support. But there's so much."
McCollum can't abide waste. Her aversion to it began when she left school. She completed culinary training and then started working with catering companies at sports events and private parties.
"At the end of every event, there was the most phenomenal amount of waste—smoked salmon, steak, breads, croissants, cheese. I mean huge chunks of it, all going into the bin. I tried to do something about it but I'd get told off. I had to stop because I felt like it was a Herculean task trying to save all that food from waste."
Read more on MUNCHIES
Advertisement