From 12 October until 12 November 2021, a variety of local pubs and restaurants will participate in the Plate Up for Glasgow initiative with the aim of actively reducing food waste.
Scheduled to coincide with the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, the month-long Plate Up campaign is piloted by Glasgow Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Eusebi Restaurant and Deli in order to further promote sustainability within the hospitality industry.
So far, 37 local businesses have committed to participate in Plate Up for Glasgow this month, including Sprigg, Hug and Pint, Soul Food Kitchen, as well as Ka Pao. During this hospitality-led food waste campaign, which is Scotland’s first-ever, each participating venue is encouraged to sell at least one low-waste dining option. These so-called Food Hero dishes are prepared sustainably in one of four ways: through food preservation techniques, rethinking existing meals, making use of unfashionable cuts of meat, and creating menu items from food surplus or donated ingredients from suppliers.
According to Zero Waste Scotland, food waste is a much more significant factor in causing climate change than plastics due to the high levels of methane which are released into Earth’s atmosphere by decomposing food waste in landfills. Around the world, 1.3bn tonnes of edible food and drink is discarded every year. In addition to its detrimental impacts on the environment, food waste also considerably affects the economy. In fact, the annual cost of food waste to Scotland’s hospitality industry is £212m.
Commenting on the initiative Jonathan MacDonald, the Chef Patron of Ox and Finch has said: “Plate up for Glasgow offers a real opportunity to showcase our city’s culinary innovations to visitors from all over the world – and moving to more modern and sustainable methods within our cooking, service, manufacturing and supply chains is the next logical step as we look to reduce our carbon footprint.”
