I’d like you to imagine you are in a shop and you want to buy a beer.You’re in the market for a high quality product, made by people passionate about their craft. On the shelf in front of you there are two beers.The first is a good product from an interesting producer, it’s got all the right provenance and the label looks great.The second beer has the same features, additionally this product has something else.This beer was made from surplus bread, and it helps to fund a campaign preventing food waste.Which beer would you choose?
Around 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted globally every year.Food production is one of the biggest impact that humanity has on the environment as it uses vast amounts of land, fuel and energy and we’re trashing the planet to produce food that is not always consumed.We waste almost 900,000 tonnes of bread every year – around 24 million slices every day, that’s enough to lift over 26 million people out of hunger! As much as 44% of all bread produced is wasted but almost half of that is before it even reaches our homes.Sandwich factories discard the heel and first slice of every loaf – that’s 17% of the loaf – because we don’t buy sandwiches made with crusts.A single sandwich factory discards 13,000 slices of fresh bread every day.
This motivated Tristram Stuart to create a product that is enjoyed by everyone but at the same time is produced from food waste. He founded the company “Toast Ale”, which is a brewery that transforms unwanted bread into beer after research found that UK households waste at least 24 million slices of bread a year.The Toast Ale brew, uses slices of fresh surplus bread from bakeries, delis and other sandwich makers to help brew each bottle.A social enterprise that creates a product that is enjoyed by many people but at the same time focuses on social issues; is the best way to make the consumer conscious about their purchasing power.
In my opinion, one of the most crucial ways of dealing with food waste is to reduce its creation.The causes of food waste occur at all stages of food supply like production, processing, distribution and consumption. We recognize the main cause of this environmental crisis and we need to collectively put an effort in reducing food waste and help our planet be a better place to live.Hence, companies like Toast Ale are market leaders and innovators in the sustainable market.While their products truly embody the core values of CSR , their next step would be to create more products with food waste and educate the consumers as much as possible.
For more information about this, read the following article and visit their website:
http://www.toastale.com/our-team/
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/toast-ale-brew-london-brewery-turns-bread-into-beer-to-tackle-food-waste-a6837421.html
http://storyofstuff.org/
SamarBose
October 30, 2017 — 10:10 pm
This is honestly pretty amazing! It is really inspiring to see businesses form from such innovative and unexpected ideas. I was astounded to see how much food we waste, especially the bread metrics! To think that food scarcity is such an issue in the world but in other parts, food waste can be such a nuisance is really a shame. Companies like this are making the best of a bad situation and can push the entire industry towards more sustainable and ethical supply chains which minimize food waste by re-purposing or reducing it.
becky purves
October 31, 2017 — 12:20 am
Hey,
Such an interesting post. It made me think of an event back in the UK called ‘ Feeding the 5000’, you might want to check it out. The concept is pretty self explanatory. The aim of the event is to feed 5000 people with food that would otherwise go in the landfill. The food is fresh but yet our supermarkets refuse to sell it, for example ‘wonky looking’ carrots. How absurd does that sound when 795 million people are malnourished on this planet?!
Becky
robertleung
November 4, 2017 — 1:59 pm
I thought this was really interesting as well. I read more on their company page, and their current supplier was using the unwanted bread as animal feed. Using it now to make beer is awesome! Thanks for sharing this great example of upcycling and creating a distinctive brand built around it.