Love Food Hate Waste Online Game

Food waste is one of my biggest pet peeves. I’ve always hated wasting food. Even before I really got into Health Promotion, I usually always opted for getting stuffed so that the food goes to something good (tantalizing my tastebuds, for example) than to contribute to landfills. I could never work in catering!

But since I’ve become more involved with food security issues, (and perhaps because I’m reading the Hunger Games series?) it’s become a much more important issue for me.

Listening to an old episode of Age of Persuasion on CBC, Terry O’Reilly tells me about UK clothing store, Marks & Spencer that has come up with a 5 year initiative to help the earth, called Plan A, because “there is no Plan B.”

Their 5 focuses are climate change, waste, sustainable raw materials, fair partner and health. I decided to focus on waste and ended up playing their game, Love Food Hate Waste.

The game is set up so that you are asked by someone to cook a meal. They tell you what is in it and you cook it using the ingredients in the fridge. The game ends with the garbage is full. Food in the fridge goes to waste after some time if you don’t use it and it adds to the garbage.

My only critique from a gaming standpoint is that it’s not that fun of a game. It takes some time to figure out, and when you’re preparing the food (chopping vegetables, grating cheese, etc.) it’s a little tedious. Plus while you are preparing the food, you are losing other foods that you can’t save. If you add in a wrong ingredient, then the person you made it for doesn’t eat it, adding to your waste.

I think ultimately, you’re not meant to save all the food but it lays in the point that you shouldn’t buy more than you can eat… or you shouldn’t bite off more than you can chew, so to speak. So while it’s not the most fun game in the world, I do love it for the message it sends.

Further, they include excellent tips to help reduce food waste.