Sustainable Food Choices: How Choosing Bone Broth Helps Reduce Food Wa – Bare Bones

Sustainable Food Choices: How Choosing Bone Broth Helps Reduce Food Waste

Did you know that roughly 40% of all food produced globally gets wasted? That’s enough to feed every food-insecure person three meals a day for a year, with leftovers.[*]

But food waste isn’t just about squandered meals. It’s the water, land, energy, and labor behind every bite that are also lost along the way.

So this Earth Month, let’s explore why it’s important to reduce food waste and how small, easy shifts can make sustainable eating feel more practical (and a little easier on your wallet 😊).

🌎 WHY FOOD WASTE IS A PROBLEM (AND WHAT’S REALLY BEING WASTED)

Food waste refers to edible food that’s discarded at any stage of the food supply chain, from farms and grocery stores to restaurants and home kitchens. It’s food that could have been eaten, but wasn’t.

These losses start early. Some crops never get harvested because they don’t meet size or appearance standards. Others are lost or damaged during transportation. Even grocery stores routinely discard items that don’t sell in time.

But a large share of food waste happens closer to home, and the ripple effects go far beyond your trash can.

💸 HOW MUCH FOOD WE WASTE AT HOME (AND WHAT IT COSTS US)

Individually, forgotten leftovers, unused produce, and overbuying may seem small. But together, they add up to millions of tons of wasted food.

Studies show that the average American household wastes about 6 cups (roughly 2 pounds) of food every week. Across the country, that’s enough wasted food to fill more than 1 million dump trucks each year.[*]

All that wasted food adds up in another way — your grocery bill.

EPA researchers estimate that the average US consumer loses around $730 worth of food each year. For a household of four, that jumps to nearly $3,000 annually, or around $56 per week.[*]

With grocery prices already high, that’s money most people would rather keep in their pocket.

🌳 WHAT FOOD WASTE DOES TO THE ENVIRONMENT

Producing food requires land, water, fertilizer, transportation, and energy. When uneaten, all these resources are also wasted.

Once discarded, food waste often ends up in landfills, where it breaks down and releases methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.[*]

Research suggests that up to 25% of the fresh water used in agriculture is wasted, and food loss/waste drives up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.[*]

So when we waste less food, fewer resources are needed to produce the same amount of nourishment. It’s one of the simplest ways to eat more sustainably.

🍴 WANT TO WASTE LESS FOOD? START WITH SUSTAINABLE EATING

Sustainable nutrition is all about choosing foods that support both your health and the health of our planet. It brings food waste and sustainability into everyday decisions, especially when it comes to making better use of what we already produce.

🐄 THE NOSE-TO-TAIL COOKING TRADITION

Long before sustainability started trending, traditional cultures around the world followed a simple rule: use as much of a crop or animal as possible.

When more parts are used, the same agricultural resources can produce more usable nutrition. Think of carrots — we eat the root, but the leafy tops can be turned into pesto, added to salads, or blended into sautés and soups instead of getting chucked.

The same idea applies to animal-based foods. The nose-to-tail cooking philosophy was built around honoring the whole animal.

Rather than focusing only on premium cuts like chicken breast or filet mignon, our ancestors valued bones, connective tissue, skin, and other parts that might otherwise go to waste.

🍲 IS BONE BROTH A SUSTAINABLE PROTEIN SOURCE?

Yes! Bone broth is a classic example of making better use of what we already produce.

By slowly simmering bones and connective tissue — parts that are often overlooked — you transform them into something deeply nourishing and versatile. What might have been tossed becomes a rich, flavorful base for soups, sauces, grains, and so much more.

That’s the core idea behind sustainable food choices: getting more nutrition out of the same resources.

But even though food waste reduction starts with how food is produced, it’s decided by what actually gets used in your kitchen. Because even the most thoughtfully produced food doesn’t help if it ends up going bad in your fridge.

🥫 SHELF-STABLE FOODS MAKE IT EASIER TO REDUCE FOOD WASTE

You buy fresh ingredients with the best intentions. Then life gets busy, plans change, and suddenly your produce drawer becomes a time capsule.

Short shelf lives are a major downside of fresh foods. If schedules or your mood shift, ingredients can spoil before they ever get used. And that’s one of the biggest drivers of food waste at home.

😌 FROZEN AND SHELF-STABLE FOODS = FLEXIBILITY

Frozen and shelf-stable foods give you something fresh foods can’t always offer: breathing room.

No more beat-the-clock energy. Because they last longer, you can let go of the pressure to use everything right away. You cook what you want when it actually works for your schedule, mood, and energy level.

More follow-through, less waste. Having flexible ingredients on hand means less food gets forgotten, pushed to the back of the fridge, and eventually binned.

More money saved. You’re not just saving on wasted groceries. Many frozen and shelf-stable options are also more budget-friendly than fresh.

🙅 BUT ARE THEY LESS HEALTHY?

Nope! Fruits and vegetables used for freezing or canning are picked at peak ripeness, when their flavor and nutrient content are at their best. Those vitamins and minerals get locked in, so their overall nutrient density is comparable to produce fresh from the harvest.[*]

The bigger factor is what gets added. Check the ingredients list for extra sugars, sweeteners, preservatives, and questionable additives. Shorter, easily recognizable ingredient lists tend to be the better pick.

👉 Save me for later: Decoding Nutritional Labels: How To Choose the Best Whole-Food Products

🥣 BONE BROTH: A SIMPLE APPROACH TO REDUCING FOOD WASTE

If you’re looking to reduce food waste in a practical way, bone broth is an easy place to start.

High-five for sustainability. Bone broth supports nose-to-tail cooking, making excellent use of parts that might otherwise get snubbed.

Nourishment that actually pulls its weight. Our bone broths contain 10 to 20 grams of protein, plus collagen, which supports your:

Ready when you are. Because it’s shelf-stable, bone broth is there when you need to add protein, depth, and umami flavor to quick meals.

One ingredient, lots of uses. Whether it becomes the base for soup, a cooking liquid for grains, or a warm mug on its own, bone broth is as versatile as it is delicious.

Not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered:

And bone broth is just one piece of the puzzle.

✅ 5 EASY WAYS TO REDUCE FOOD WASTE IN YOUR KITCHEN

Now that you know why food waste is a big problem, let’s talk about small habits that can make a surprisingly big difference over time.

🛒 PLAN YOUR SHOPPING (BUT KEEP IT FLEXIBLE)

Instead of mapping out every meal, aim for a loose plan and buy ingredients that can work across multiple dishes.

A simple trick: Write quantities on your list based on how many times you’ll actually use something (like “tuna packets for 2 lunches”) to avoid overbuying.

💪 CHOOSE INGREDIENTS THAT DO DOUBLE (OR TRIPLE) DUTY

Some foods naturally stretch further than others. Grains, beans, and sustainable protein sources can show up in multiple meals throughout the week.

For example, one batch of shredded chicken can easily become tacos, lunchtime salad bowls, or the base of a weeknight casserole.

💡 STOP THINKING OF LEFTOVERS AS LEFTOVERS

In one study, throwing away leftovers no one wanted to eat wasted approximately 12 cups of food each week.[*]

So, if reheating the same meal sounds boring, don’t. Turn extras into something new.

Roasted veggies can become soup. Cooked grains might turn into stir-fries. Even odds and ends can come together as a quick “clean out the fridge” skillet or grain bowl.

The goal isn’t to eat the same meal again. It’s to give ingredients a second life.

🗓️ DON’T LET DATE LABELS BE CONFUSING

Research shows confusion over date labels leads to 4.3 million tons of food waste in the US every year, costing American households and businesses more than $21 billion.[*]

The twist? Except for infant formula, “best by” and “sell by” dates are guidelines, not hard rules.[*] Many foods are still perfectly usable after those dates, especially if they look and smell fine.

Learning the difference can help you avoid tossing food that’s still good.

🌼 START A COMPOST, WATCH YOUR GARDEN THRIVE

Composting is nature’s way of recycling. Instead of tossing scraps like banana peels, coffee grounds, or apple cores, you can turn them into nutrient-rich soil for your garden.

🌱 Check out this guide on Composting At Home from the EPA.

🌎 CELEBRATE EARTH MONTH WITH BARE BONES

Reducing food waste isn’t about doing everything perfectly. It’s about wasting less, more often.

So shop with a plan. Use ingredients that stretch. Keep options on hand that don’t go bad overnight. And give ingredients more than one chance to shine.

Bare Bones Classic and Instant Bone Broths check all those boxes. They’re made from simple ingredients, work in everything, and help you get more out of what you already have.

✨ Let’s celebrate Earth Month by putting our gratitude for the planet that feeds us into practice. ✨