A c1930 poster promoting goods from across the British empire. Refrigerated ships enabled fresh food to be transported far and wide
ALAMY/ELEANOR BARNETT
Today, a third of the food produced worldwide goes to waste. Climate activists regularly urge us to think before we throw perfectly good food in the bin, while the UN’s target of 2030 to halve global food waste is fast approaching. But how did our food system become so wasteful? How was food waste understood by our ancestors, and what can this history tell us about past experiences and values more widely?
From the Tudor kitchen right up to the present day, my new book, Leftovers: A History of Food Waste and Preservation, explores the ingenious ways in which our forebears sought to prevent food from going to waste – by preserving it, reusing leftovers in creative dishes, and recycling any uneaten food scraps. To celebrate the book’s publication on 14 March, I’ve created a sustainable, historical feast using three of the dishes that feature inside.