FOOD FOR THE WIN!

Hello and welcome to the blog!

Last week, I attended a seminar on "the impact of food pollution on our planet" and I thought it necessary to share my thoughts on the contribution of the aviation economy on this challenge.

So today, we shall be discussing the possible mitigation of food waste in air travel.

Before going into the discussion, I am going to share a personal story.


It was the summer of 2006, my family and I had decided to take a trip to London in the United Kingdom. I was very happy, maybe because it was my first time on board an Airplane, but I would say that it was the excitement from taking part in an age-long culture of dining in an aircraft. About 3 hours to the flight time, my mother had gone to a restaurant in the airport to purchase consumable items for me and my siblings, because she had anticipated my reluctance to eat out of an unknown culinary.

I had refused to take anything because I was saving myself for the three-course meal promised on my itinerary. To my greatest dismay, when the food serving eventually came, I couldn’t recognize a single portion on the plate. I was stunned! I could only go about the tray, settling for the bread and butter that were on it.

The issue was not with the airplane or the catering vendor, who I am sure had crossed all the ‘t’s and dotted all the ‘I’s in ensuring that the food met all standards possible. 

There is no gainsaying that when it comes to airplane food, we would agree that the quality and quantity varies on the section of the plane you are seated in, and the length of your flight. Depending on the airline you are travelling with, and the seat in which you purchased, the number of meals served may vary. Those sitting in first class may receive multiple meals, while those sitting in the back may only get one.

So.....when you hear food waste, what comes to mind? 

According to Green America, each airline passenger generates around one kilogram of waste per flight. Although this might not seem like a concern at first, when you multiply this average by the total number of airline passengers travelling around the world each day, the amount of food wasted within the aviation industry per year is astounding. In 2013 alone, over 6.3 billion passengers travelled by air, producing more than 3.15 million tons of waste. lets not even get into the estimate of 2018.

Airline passengers generated 5.2m tonnes of waste in 2016, most of which went to landfill or incineration- and it cost them £400m, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates. That’s the weight of about 2.6m cars. And it’s a figure set to double over the next 15 years. Also included are the waste of miniature wine bottles, half-eaten lunch trays, unused toothbrushes and other hallmarks of air travel. 

SEGUE: Did you know that it takes an average plastic bottle, 100 years to decay completely (you can read on this on the nineteenintiative.blogspot.com)

Arguments have been canvassed back and forth on what happens to all the unused foods and snacks on flights upon arrival. Do airlines reuse it on another flight, donate it to some charity, or simply toss it in the trash?

Upon arrival, catering companies begin offloading all the food carts and garbage from the plane. Some would assume that the unused meals that are still considered “fresh” are simply distributed to passengers on the next flight. 


The reality is, any food that is left-over from a flight is considered “contaminated” and is therefore disposed of immediately upon arrival. This includes meals that passengers didn’t finish as well as entire carts full of food that were never used. These strict regulations exist on all international flights arriving into the US and are enforced so that no food-borne illnesses can spread from country to country.

It would interest you to know, that airlines have to provide double the figure of passengers expected on board so as to satisfy the demands for food and snacks. So let’s imagine the average long haul flight leaves with enough food to serve one main meal and one arrival snack per passenger. The probability that each passenger will consume both meals entirely is unlikely, so it can be assumed that food will be leftover.

Unfortunately, airplane food waste is unavoidable, but we can proffer some recommendations airlines can take to reduce waste and save our Planet: (At least before we move to Mars)

1. By only loading 80% of the required meals on each flight with the expectation that some passengers will opt not to eat.
2. If meals are charged around N1,500 or its equivalent in foreign currency, less food would be consumed when meals are only available for purchase rather than complimentary. Hence, food vendors are required to prepare less.
3.  Passengers can be encouraged to make food requests upon securing tickets. Hence, airlines are better advised as to the quota of people to prepare complimentary food.
4. Designing cabin products with waste minimization in mind can also help.

Airlines like British Airways are also helping to lead the way in waste management solutions. According to Envirosolutions, the airline now recycles food waste from its inbound flights with a waste drier. “This technology removes all moisture from the waste, reducing it to a dry powder that can be mixed into compost or burned for fuel. British Airways has delivered zero waste to landfill over the last two months”

As more airlines jump onboard, these small changes will begin to have a lasting impact on our environment and hopefully start to reduce the amounts of waste being sent to landfills each year. There is a lot that still needs to be done, but with the continuing development of new technology and information, perhaps the future of aviation will no longer be buried deep in food waste.

A decade later, I am still selective about choosing my cuisines onboard and I continue to be part of a bigger problem that is beyond the airlines and the airport services.

A friend once told me that I may feel like I am not responsible for feeding the world, but at least, I should not contribute to global hunger by wasting food.

What about you? Are you guilty as charged?

Should you have more suggestions as to how airlines can reduce food waste, please do not hesitate to leave a comment in the comment box. Also, questions and comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking out time out to read and share this post.

This post is dedicated to the Nigerian Airforce Pilot, SQDN LDR Mohamed Baba Ari, who lost his life in the air mishap that occurred during the independence day rehearsal on the 28th of September 2018 and also to the entire Airforce Fleet who sacrifice their lives to assure us of a safer Nigeria.

Please follow my discussions on my LinkedIn account at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayomide-a-jide-omole-062633112

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