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National campaign reveals we throw out equivalent to 300 million burgers every year
People in the UK throw away 34,000 tonnes of beef every year, which is equivalent to 300 million beef burgers, according to figures released by Love Food Hate Waste.
The national campaign has joined forces with television presenter and farmer Adam Henson to launch the Meaty Issues campaign, calling on Britain to make the most of their meat.
Love Food Hate Waste research shows much of the waste, worth £260 million annually*, could be avoided through taking small steps at home, like planning meals in advance, storing food better, understanding date labels, serving the right portions and cooking with leftovers.
Beef is really popular in our kitchens, as shown in a new poll of over 2000 UK adults commissioned by the campaign.
Spaghetti Bolognese was named the country’s favourite beef dish, as one in five Brits (20%) picked it as their most frequent beef dish to eat at home. This was followed by the traditional beef roast dinner (18%) and a steak dinner (12%).
However, not everyone got around to using it up - one in six (17%) of those who bought beef said it had gone to waste as they left it to go past the use by date. Almost one in ten (9%) admitted they’d thrown it out after leaving it uncovered or in an open packet.
Only three out of ten people who buy beef plan meals in advance before shopping for it (30%) and just 19% make sure to check how much they have in the fridge before going to buy more.
Richard Swannell, Love Food Hate Waste, said: “Our research has shown that despite our love of beef in the UK, we still throw away hundreds of millions of pounds worth every year, with an equivalent weight to 300 million burgers, (alternatively this is the weight of 150 million steaks†).
“That’s why we’ve launched our Meaty Issues campaign, to encourage people to get the best out of their beef and other meats, saving them money and helping the environment.”
Farmer and television presenter Adam Henson has also backed the campaign.
Adam said: “As a farmer by trade, I’m passionate about the issue of wasted meat and how to minimise it - I’m fully behind Love Food Hate Waste’s campaign to highlight the issue. Beef is one of our favourite meats in the UK, and we really should be doing everything we can make the most of it once we’ve put it in our shopping trolleys.”
Love Food Hate Waste is also on the hunt for Britain’s best leftover beef and meat recipes. To find out more and learn more about the Meaty Issues campaign, visit: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/meaty-issues
Top tips for getting the best from beef from Love Food Hate Waste
- Left-over roast beef doesn’t have to be used just in a sandwich – it works brilliantly in a cottage pie, a soup or shredded and added to a stir-fry.
- Not enough beef to go around? Add some chick peas, kidney beans, or a potato etc. to Mexican and curry meals to make dinner more filling and save money on meat.
- Remember to check date labels so you know when your beef needs to be used by.
- Going shopping for beef? Plan ahead by using Love Food Hate Waste’s handy portion planner to get the perfect amount.
- If you’ve found a great special offer or just don't want to use all of your beef at once, freeze some for another day and use as needed.
- Small portions freeze best and can be added from frozen to your dish. The most important thing is to ensure that when you are reheating the beef that it is piping hot all the way through before serving.
- Check out Love Food Hate Waste’s recipe finder for ways to use smaller portions and cheaper cuts to make delicious meals.
And there are lots of other ways to make the most of all of your meat:
- Before roasting a chicken, cut the wings off. Wrap them tight and freeze them. After 3 or 4 roasts you'll have enough wings to cook for another meal.
- Freeze leftover sausage to make tasty sausage rolls.
- If you buy a big pack of bacon, rashers can be frozen easily by putting greaseproof paper between them. Then you can cook from frozen whenever you are treating yourself to a weekend fry up.
- Marinades are a quick and easy way to pep up meat which is almost at its use-by-date or has been in the freezer for a while and has got a little tired or dry. Just put the chicken fillets, beef steaks or chops in the marinade for about 30 minutes in the fridge, turning once.
- For chicken marinade, use soy sauce, honey and mustard. For beef try chilli flakes, ginger and coriander and for lamb use garlic, rosemary and lemon juice.
- Leftover Sunday roasts can be made into tasty money-saving dishes like lamb rogan josh, Moroccan chicken stew or roast sausages
- Eat from the freezer one night a week.
Take a ‘shelfie’ to avoid doubling up. Taking a picture of your fridge before you go shopping means you won’t be doubling up on items you already have.