It’s February 2014. Deep inside I still feel like an insecure little boy. People know me as a big meat lover, preferably a big Wiener schnitzel. My favourite position is lying on the couch with a cigarette between my lips. And every now and then, when I manage to put a reasonable meal on the table, I cook too much. More than once the food ends up in the bin. Then I meet a vegetarian who takes me by the hand and shows me how things can be done in a different way. Her name: Daisy Scholte.
What it was like
Let’s be honest. All of the above is true. But at the moment Daisy and I get to know each other, something is already changing. I’m working to improve my self-confidence. Cookbooks show me how not to cook only out of carton boxes with salty instant sauces and pre-cut veggies in plastic bags. I start listening to my vegetarian neighbours, telling me about their diet. Due to small improvements in my culinary skills less food ends up in the trash. But I’m not really aware of what sustainability means. I don’t know how I can contribute to a better world without becoming an activist. Until I meet Daisy.
OK bye!
After a dinner with our mutual friends the two of us walk in the direction of the train-station in my hometown Amersfoort. The student flat where I live is on the same route and she has to catch the train to Utrecht. We talk about her work as ‘Queen of leftovers’. I listen and nod at the right moments. Until we get to my house. There is slight panic in my mind, because I notice that I don’t want the conversation to stop. My new self-assured personality makes a decision: I’m going to ask her to have a drink with me. The insecure little boy in me puts a stop to it. As I’m ready to turn around towards my house, I say “Okay, bye!”. After three friendly kisses on the cheek (that’s the Dutch way) she walks on and disappears into the darkness. I stand in front of my door, frustrated with my own shyness. A real gentlemen, I think to myself. I didn’t even walk her to the station! I feel like the biggest dumbass in history.
The conversation continues
When I’m inside I decide to send her a message. I ask if she was on time for the train and try to continue the conversation via Whatsapp. After a while I say: “Maybe you can show me how to do this thing you call leftover cooking?” My palms are getting sweaty, as I stare at my screen. Daisy is typing…, appears at the top of it. It seems to take her forever. Then her answer appears at the end of the conversation: “Yes, i’d like that! How about Sunday?”. I shout out a cry of joy and give myself a high five. In your face, insecure Patrick!
The first leftover date
Our first date is a success. We eat leftovers and talk a lot about what Daisy does (and sometimes also a little about what I do). She shows me how to store onions in an old panty. We take a look at her balcony where herbs, tomatoes and lettuce grow. She says she doesn’t eat meat and why. And she talks about her mission to save food at a supermarket that throws away a lot of good food. I try to remember as much as possible, for (hopefully) a next time.
Cookbooks
When we have been together for a few months Daisy starts with a new project. She wants to make a book in which she can bundle her collected leftover recipes. This idea grows into a ridiculously great success. Eighteen months and 15,000 sold copies later, she has become even more profiled as the Queen of leftovers. In her slipstream I celebrate with her. Her enthusiasm transfers to me. I start to spread her story, just like many people who have a copy of her book in their bookcase. The magic word of that moment, which often comes back later: inspire. The point is that as many people as possible need to see that it can also be done differently. We don’t have to waste 50 kilos of good food per person per year and Daisy shows that in a positive and fun way.
Check Daisy’s cookbooks (Dutch) against food waste here: Lekker Koken met Restjes.
Living together, learning together
Without Daisy ever saying that I’m not allowed to do something, my behaviour starts to change. It feels good. When we live together, we continue to look critically at what we do. The only waste that I can remember are herbs that didn’t survive on our balcony. A lack of sunlight on our north facing balcony is the cause. We choose to buy as many organic products as possible and receive the weekly BetterBio foodbox for a while. I learn to cook with fresh vegetables, take onions from an old panty regularly and develop a second big love: the Indian cuisine.
Sustainable travel
When Daisy starts her blog and becomes a freelance travel journalist, she immediately knows what her main theme is: sustainable travel. Of course I have no idea what that means. I have heard that flying isn’t very good for the environment, but that’s about it. But now that we have been traveling for more than 6 months, I have learned a lot about sustainable travel. Is it realistic to think that people will fly less in the coming decades? No, it’s not. But when we are more aware of the impact, the industry is likely to change something. Like the mentioned supermarket, which adjusted the rules and now wastes a lot less food, partly due to Daisy’s work. The aviation industry is one of those industry’s that is not transforming to a more sustainable industry. And we aren’t going to fly any less. On the contrary.
Try to do good while you travel
In addition, you can also do a lot of good during your trip! Buying as few plastic water bottles as possible (or try not produce any waste at all). Spend your money with local entrepreneurs instead of international hotel chains. Respect the local culture and customs, no matter how exciting that sometimes may be. Love nature and its residents. Avoid activities that involve direct contact with animals. They all seem to be open doors, but I see with my own eyes that there are many people who have no idea. I recently saw an adult (Western) man throwing a candy wrapper into the beautiful woods of the Himalayas. True story.
Click here to read about how to travel sustainably in a very easy way!
What is it like now
I think it’s very clear that I have learned a lot. I look more critically at what I’m doing. Especially now that we are traveling. I’m aware of the fact that we are also responsible for environmental impact by our world trip. I sometimes even feel a little guilty. At the moment of writing this story, I’m in Sikkim, India. I sit upright on a chair, without a cigarette. Health, money and the environment are my motives to never start smoking again. In the absence of vegetarian dishes and purely out of habit, I have eaten meat in Iran. That quickly ended. In recent years, my meat consumption has already been limited to outside of our home. My own choice. Food waste is obviously no longer an option. Because I now know that it can be done differently (and because I think I will be punished if I do waste something). I’m becoming more aware of my impact. The smoking, cynical, poorly informed carnivore that I was has transformed. Not because it was imposed on me. But because I’m better aware of all of these things and I get inspired on a daily basis.
The moral of the story
I don’t know exactly why I wrote all this down. Or for whom. It’s not a plea that you should start with a lifestyle. You shouldn’t become a vegetarian because someone else is. Who knows, I will also occasionally eat a piece of meat when I’m back in the Netherlands. It’s not that I will get angry when you throw away food or if you fly more often than necessary. But I know now that a little more attention to other possibilities can make a big difference. Perhaps this story is for anyone who has no idea where to start, just like me in 2014. And at the same time for the people who do have the knowledge, the skills and the chance to organise their lives more sustainably. There is nothing as nice as finding someone who takes you by the hand and shows you how things can be done differently. A friend, a family member, an acquaintance, or – as with me – the love of my life. You are not obligated to do anything, of course. But sometimes let yourself be adjusted a little by those who already know how to make a positive difference. Then the rest will go (almost) automatically. I’m an example of that.
Would you like to read more? This might also be interesting for you: Why we choose to travel around the world without flying
- 28 February 2018
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