Love food, hate waste, reduce emissions
According to Love Food Hate Waste, a food saver campaign which 60 New Zealand councils run, New Zealand homes throw away 157,398 tonnes of food per year, all of which could have been eaten. This is enough food to feed the whole of Dunedin for nearly three years, and costs the average household $644 a year.
New Zealand’s yearly food waste produces 409,234 tonnes of carbon emissions, as much as 137,511 Ford Ranger cars. In high-income economies like NZ, up to 35 percent of food is thrown out by consumers. In low-income economies, however, relatively little is wasted at the household level.
Unsurprisingly, reducing food waste is the third most efficient solution to reduce CO2 emissions and thus global warming and climate change. It's one of the few low-hanging fruit (pun intended), and a solution that is simple and cheap enough to allow all of us to make a contribution, without having to invest first.
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.
It’s Riddle Time – You Might Need an Extra Cup of Coffee!
Nobody has ever walked this way. Which way is it?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
Poll: Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?
The Australian Prime Minister has expressed plans to ban social media use for children.
This would make it illegal for under 16-year-olds to have accounts on platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Social media platforms would be tasked with ensuring children have no access (under-age children and their parents wouldn’t be penalised for breaching the age limit)
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Do you think NZ should follow suit? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.
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84.7% Yes
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13.9% No
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1.4% Other - I'll share below