Showing for the first time in Tasmania, the award-winning film Just Eat It: a food waste story reveals the gross
waste of household food.

Todd Houstein, Sustainable Living Tasmania’s Executive Officer said “the waste starts at the supply end, with 30
to 40 percent of vegetables grown in Tasmania either ploughed back into the ground or fed to livestock. Often
that is just because they aren’t pretty enough to sell to the big supermarkets.”

The Mercury reported on one such case last year, where a Tasmanian farmer was forced to dump 150 tonnes of
perfectly good carrots because they were slightly too big for strict packaging quality standards.

“But the waste doesn’t stop there,” Houstein said. “In the home we throw out somewhere between $560 and
$2,000 per household each year according to studies conducted on the mainland. Food makes up about 40% of
what we put into our wheelie bin.”

The two main reasons for waste in the home are food being left in the fridge or freezer too long and people not
finishing their meals.

Houstein said “the good news is that there are easy ways to significantly reduce waste and save serious money.
Buying smaller amounts of fresh produce more regularly, planning meals ahead, making shopping lists and
sticking to them, and learning to improvise with what is in the fridge are all good strategies.”

Just Eat It: a food waste story is showing at SLT Wednesday 24th June at 6pm

Sources:
 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-08/food-waste-value-australia/4993930
 http://www.themercury.com.au/lifestyle/carrots-turned-into-fertiliser-because-they-are-too-big-tosell/
story-fnj64o9j-1227015921738
 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-01/unharvested-veggies-wasted-tasmania/5641172

Sustainable Living Tasmania is a not-for-profit community organisation that helps to create happy, healthy,
equitable and sustainable Tasmanian communities through education, advocacy and community building.

What: Film screening of “Just Eat It: A food waste story”
When: 24th June 2015, 6pm
Where: Sustainable Living Tasmania, 1st Floor, 71 Murray St, Hobart
Cost: $15 (or $13 for SLT members)
Tickets: https://foodwastestory.eventbrite.com.au
Todd Houstein, Executive Officer Sustainable Living Tasmania