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How to prevent food waste while travelling


When I was staying with a nomad family in Iran, they slaughtered a chicken especially for me. But I’m a vegetarian. I searched everywhere for toothpaste that doesn’t contain micro-plastics. And traveling by boat instead of a plane from Sri Lanka to India is illegal and therefore impossible. It’s not always easy to be just as sustainable while travelling, as you would be at home. But when it comes to food waste there are many things I’m able to do as the ‘Queen of leftover’ on my many journeys. Because today is World Food Day, I share a few helpful tips on how to prevent food waste while travelling.

World Food Day

Every day we wonder what we will eat tonight. But there are almost 900 million people in the world who wonder every day if they will have food on their plates at all. It’s inconsistent that we throw away more than a third of our food, while other countries don’t have enough to eat to start with. Today it’s World Food Day. This is a day when we think about food security and allocation of food worldwide.

Lekker Koken met Restjes

I wrote two cookbooks filled with tips an tricks to avoid food waste. In the first one, I chose to share dozens of tips and surprising recipes, so you never have a reason to throw away good food again. And after reading this article you don’t have to waste anything while you’re on holiday anymore!

Before you leave

Your mission to waste less food starts when you are still at home. A few days before departure you already know that you will be away for a while. So you can already plan ahead. The days before I leave, I use all the products that don’t last very long. If I can’t finish everything before I pack my suitcases, I give it to the neighbours, friends or my parents.

Is there no one around who is waiting for your leftovers? Then post them on Facebook. There are dozens of local groups where you can give away food and other products. There is always someone who is going to be happy to pick up your remaining products.

How to prevent food waste on the road

It depends on how you travel of course, but a cooler box can be very useful to store perishable products for longer. A few years ago I travelled with a friend through southern Africa in a small, white Volkswagen. We couldn’t afford to go out for dinner on our student budget. But to go shopping every day would also be expensive. So we bought a large cooler that we carried around in the trunk of the car. We kept butter, cheese and other fresh products that we didn’t finish in one go, but did use a lot.

There are also small cooling bags that fit perfectly into your backpack. So you can also take fresh products to your next destination if you’re not travelling by car.

The problem of the buffet

Many hotels serve breakfast (and sometimes dinner) in the form of a buffet. It’s a great feeling to be tempted by that abundance of food. But there are two problems with buffets:

  1. You’re going to eat too much for sure
  2. The buffet is well stocked until the last minute. What’s still on the table at the end of the buffet goes – you guessed it – into the bin.

 
The best thing you can do is consciously choose a hotel without a buffet. But if you still sleep in a hotel with a buffet, try to do as much as possible to avoid even more food waste. At the breakfast buffet, for example, I only eat the ends of the bread, because other people don’t like them so they don’t get eaten. And be honest, the ends are actually the best!
 
buffet food waste travel

Don’t fill your plate with more food than you can handle. The dishes on the buffet are constantly being replenished. If everyone scoops up too much, the dishes empty faster and more is served. The food that remains on your plate ends up in the trashcan for sure.

When the buffet is almost finished and I see that the basket of sandwiches or cakes isn’t empty yet, I don’t hesitate and ask if I can take a few extra. It might be a bit cheeky, but I make sure I have a sandwich for lunch and the staff doesn’t have to throw it away.

Large portions

Sometimes the portions in restaurants are so large that you can barely get by with the two of you. Then I’m glad I haven’t ordered a starter. Before I decide what to eat, I always look around to see how big the portions are. Then it’s easier to judge whether or not I want a starter. If they are really mega-dishes, I share the main course with my table companion. If it’s too little I can always take a dessert.

Half portions

Some restaurants serve smaller portions if you just ask. They may reduce the price, but don’t count on it. Just think: I pay the same, and I save the food that isn’t thrown away now.

Aks for a doggybag

In the Netherlands, we are not used to asking for a doggy bag. But in most other countries this is a very normal question. Just do it! Try and keep the food cooled. Especially when it comes to meat or fish. You can use the minibar if you have one. No minibar? But you want to be a real leftover king? Ask the bartender for some ice and store your doggy bag in a plastic bag in the sink with ice. The next day you can enjoy a nice, cheap lunch.

Book a place with a kitchen

A convenient way to reduce waste on travel is to stay in places with your own kitchen. Apartments via Airbnb and many hostels offer that possibility. If you have your own kitchen, you don’t have to eat out every meal. That is cheaper and healthier. But it also ensures that you have control over how much food you get. Moreover, it is much easier to store leftovers for the next day in your own kitchen.
 
cooking traveling asian

Saving money to do fun things

Eating out is one of the biggest expenses on a trip. If you go out for dinner three times a day, it can get very expensive. Every time you cook for yourself or lunch with leftovers, you save money. And you can use that money to do fun things at your next destination.

The Backstreet Academy

Looking for a good place to spend the money you saved? We book many of our activities in Asia through the Backstreet Academy. With this company, the local population, culture and ancient traditions are the most important aspects. Would you like to book a great activity that is both a lot of fun and good for the locals too? Visit the Backstreet Academy.

We also did a workshop on how to make Tibetan momos making in Pokhara, trough the Backstreet Academy. We learned in Indonesia how to make tempeh. And we were taken along by student Bisma during a food tour in Kathmandu. The Backstreet Academys activities in 10 countries in Asia: Nepal, Laos, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. Enough choice!
 
Backstreet Academy Weaving

Did you enjoy this article? Then you’ll like this too:

1. 10 easy ways to help your supermarket reduce their food waste
2. How to make a positive impact while traveling
3. Ecotourism in Cambodia: into the jungle of Chi Phat guided by former poachers
4. 21 surprising things you don’t know about Bangladesh as a holiday destination
5. This is how we travel the world without buying plastic bottles of water

Daisy
About me

Meet Daisy, freelance travel journalist, filmmaker and cookbook author. Some people know her as a leftover queen, others as a travel addict or a world improver. She can't be described with just one word. She travelled for a year as a travel reporter for Expedia in the Netherlands, held a TED talk about food waste, wrote two cookbooks about cutting down on waste and won the only professional prize for travel journalism with an article about her stay with the nomads in Iran. With this website, Daisy wants to show that sustainable living, travelling and eating consciously is not only simple but very valuable and enriching.

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