• Question: What would be more sustainable, that we reduce the consumption of products, or that we extend their shelf life?

    Asked by on 17 Jun 2020. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 17 Jun 2020:

      This is a great question. I think the two are linked, so by increasing the shelf life of products we can enable them to be used for longer and have less waste created from them. This should in turn reduce consumption.

      My work concentrates on food, and food waste is highest among foods with the shortest shelf life, like fruit and vegetables. These also tend to be some of the healthiest foods though, so it can be difficult to find a balance between encouraging people to eat fresh healthy food and trying to reduce the amount of waste. Vegetables and pulses can be a good solution for sustainability because they are healthy but can also often be stored for a long time.

    • Photo: Martin Lott

      Martin Lott answered on 17 Jun 2020:

      I’m not sure how much each affects sustainability but in terms of shelf life, there is a difference between ‘Best Before’ and ‘Use By’. Food past its Best Before date could be safely eaten whereas when it is past its Use By date it cannot. Simply better educating the public or, as some supermarkets are starting to do, removing best before dates can help sustainability and shelf life without scientifically doing anything to the food itself.

    • Photo: Joe Matthews

      Joe Matthews answered on 17 Jun 2020:

      A very difficult balance. One that would probably make a very interesting study!
      From my experience with dairy based foods, increasing shelf life doesn’t come free and requires an increased energy input to eliminate more bacteria or create an environment that prevents bacteria growth. For example, higher pasteurisation temperatures in milk or creating an anaerobic atmosphere above sealed desserts.
      Based on that I think reduced consumption would make the bigger impact.

    • Photo: Andy Timms

      Andy Timms answered on 18 Jun 2020:

      That is a really good question, you could argue that increased shelf life would reduce food waste and we would need to produce less food (or we could feed more people that really needed it).
      But then you need to think about how we would increase shelf life, would that involve more packaging waste or reduce the nutritional content of the food and we would need to consider food safety as well.
      So it may well be that reduced consumption would be the answer (too many people especially in more afluent countries eat too much anyway) and perhaps we could distibute what food we do produce more equitably.

    • Photo: Boglarka Gulyas

      Boglarka Gulyas answered on 18 Jun 2020:

      I personally think the most important thing is to think carefully about what and how much we buy and try and make sure we waste as little as possible. Of course, longer shelf lives are cretainly helpful, but cooking from ingredients that are nearing their expiry date and freezing things we are not going to be able to use up in time is essential.

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