Chelsea Kerr, Managing Director at Too Good To Go UK & Ireland, explores the often-overlooked connection between food waste and water security, and why making better use of the food we already produce should be part of building a more resilient food system.
As relentless heat and dry spells put increasing pressure on the UK, concerns around water security and the impact on food production are becoming harder to ignore. Reservoir levels are under pressure, hosepipe restrictions have become a reality during periods of prolonged dry weather, and farmers are having to navigate increasingly unpredictable growing conditions.
Yet, as we talk about saving water in our daily lives – turning off taps, taking shorter showers and being more conscious of how we use water in the garden – there is another part of the conversation that deserves more attention: the food we waste.
Throwing away one banana wastes enough water to shower for 10 minutes.
When we talk about water security, the conversation should not stop at the tap.
It is a simple illustration of a much bigger connection between food and water. Agriculture accounts for around 70% of global freshwater withdrawals, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, meaning the food we eat carries a significant water footprint long before it reaches our plates.
Every crop grown and every ingredient produced requires resources – not just water, but also land, energy and labour. When food goes uneaten, all of those resources have been used..
That makes food waste more than a question of what ends up in the bin. It is also a question of how efficiently we are using the resources already invested in our food system.
And while preventing food waste will not solve the UK’s water challenges on its own, it is one area where we can make better use of resources that have already been committed. As pressure on those resources increases, we should be asking a simple question: how do we make sure more of the food we already produce actually gets eaten?
Making better use of what we already have
There is an important distinction between preventing food waste and dealing with food that has already become surplus.
The first priority should always be to prevent surplus from happening in the first place. Better forecasting, stock management and demand planning can all help businesses order and produce more accurately.
But surplus is inevitable. A bakery may have bread left at the end of the day. A supermarket may have products approaching their best-before date. A restaurant may prepare more food than it ultimately sells.
Throwing away one banana wastes enough water to shower for 10 minutes.
At that point, the question is not whether the food has value. It is how we make sure that value isn’t lost.
Businesses have an increasing range of tools to help them do this, from dynamic markdowns to surplus redistribution platforms. These approaches give perfectly edible food another route to consumers rather than allowing it to become waste.
For us, that is an important part of building a more resilient food system: getting more value from what we have already produced, rather than continually treating surplus as something disposable.
And the principle applies just as much at home.
Small changes can make a difference
Households account for the majority of the UK’s food waste, according to WRAP, so the choices we make at home matter too.
Reducing food waste doesn’t have to mean completely changing how we shop or cook. Often, it is about making better use of what we already have:
- Understand your date labels. A use-by date is about food safety, while a best-before date is about quality. Understanding the difference can help prevent food being thrown away unnecessarily.
- Check what you already have. Before heading to the supermarket, take a look in your fridge, freezer and cupboards. Planning meals around food that needs eating first can help avoid buying more than we need.
- Store food properly. Simple changes, such as keeping your fridge at the right temperature or freezing bread before it goes stale, can help extend the life of the food we buy.
- Find another route for surplus. Whether that means using food already in your fridge before buying more, or rescuing surplus food from a local business through Too Good To Go, there are more ways than ever to make sure good food gets eaten.
There is no single solution to the UK’s water and climate challenges. Long-term action is needed across the food system, from more resilient agricultural practices and supply chains to the way businesses and households manage the food they buy.
But preventing food waste is something we can act on today. These actions may seem small individually, but collectively they can help us make much better use of the food and resources already within our food system.
When we talk about water security, the conversation should not stop at the tap. It should extend to the food we produce – and, crucially, the food that goes uneaten.
Because if we have already used the water, land, energy and labour to produce something, we should do everything we can to make sure that food fulfils its purpose: feeding people.
