Here at Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), we are committed to sustainability and finding innovative ways to reduce our carbon footprint. And by extension, we’re committed to you — we know you care as much about this planet as we do. So, as we set intentions for 2024, we want to issue a challenge:
This year, take small steps to significantly reduce your family’s food waste.
An estimated 30–40% of America’s food supply goes to waste every year. That’s nutrient-rich food that ends up in the landfill, instead of on dinner plates. Food that spoils before it can be cooked. Produce that doesn’t sell at the grocery store. Leftovers tossed out after being forgotten in the fridge. Not to mention, your hard-earned dollars wasted.
But here’s the good news: We can change this. We are the
Nerd Herd, a farmer-led team of engineers, veterinarians, scientists, nutritionists and more, committed to sustainability from our farms to your table.
Did you know that our dairy cows on
DFA farms are already doing their part by eating plant parts humans can’t digest? More on that later — for now, let’s focus on you. By cooking and meal planning more mindfully, you can make a big difference.
Last night’s leftovers are a head start on tonight’s meal prep. You don’t need to start from scratch every night. When there’s something left in the fridge, up-cycle it into a fresh dish.
Creamy chicken pasta: Make a one-pot meal by dicing up your leftover chicken (chicken breast, rotisserie, leftover turkey, any poultry will do!), adding veggies from the fridge (broccoli, carrots, green beans, spinach …), and then making a creamy sauce like
this one with sustainably farmed milk from a
DFA-owned brand. Then, toss it over your favorite pasta, top with Parmesan cheese, and dinner is served!
Here’s another idea for your leftover chicken or turkey that brings in all the cheese.
Soup’s on!: A hearty pot of soup is another great way to up-cycle your veggies. This
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup only gets better when you throw in any veggies you need to use up.
Cheesy crostini: Don’t toss that stale bread! Soak it in milk for 10 minutes, throw it in a frying pan with some oil, flip it and melt a generous amount of cheese over it. Then, you’ll have an appetizer or dinner side the whole family won’t be able to stop grabbing.
Eggnog everything: Just because the holidays are over doesn’t mean the eggnog has to be poured down the drain. Get that last taste of nutmeg and spice and everything nice by:
- Using it in place of coffee creamer
- Swapping out the milk in your French toast dredge for an indulgent upgrade
- Whipping up a sweet and spiced cocktail
Widen your cooking lens to get the most out of every ingredient. One of the best ways to prevent food waste is to use the whole ingredient, not just the most popular part. Before you toss the trimmings or excess from an ingredient, ask yourself if you can give it another life.
Veggie tops: If your carrots, beets or fennel come with the leafy part still attached, use it. Carrot greens have a lightly herbaceous flavor that’s great in a chimichurri, pesto or tzatziki sauce. Beet greens can be sauteed or cooked in soups or pasta dishes, the same ways you use spinach. Fennel fronds can be chopped up as a garnish, or used in a salad dressing, or any other recipe that needs a pop of freshness.
Strawberry tops and apple cores: Drop them in your water bottle for fruit-flavored and vitamin-infused water.
Pumpkin and squash seeds: Roast them. They’re a tasty snack, and also a tasty addition to baked goods, salads or as a garnish.
Chicken or turkey: Boil the bones (along with onion peels, celery ends, and other veggie scraps) to make incredibly flavorful stock.
Cheese rinds: That hard end to your parm block? Throw it into your
pot of soup. As it simmers, it’ll add depth of flavor to the broth.
Anything that’s left: Compost it. Food scraps break down and contribute to nutrient-rich soil, so consider finding a way to compost. This is a great option for coffee grounds, eggshells, banana peels or anything else edible or biodegradable.
Our dairy cows are doing their part in the zero-waste revolution. Fighting food waste is actually one of our cows’ favorite pastimes — they do it by munching on some tasty snacks. Dairy cows on DFA farms eat pre-consumer agricultural waste like hulls from nuts, cotton seeds and parts of grains not fit for human consumption. Simply put, humans can’t handle the fibrous nature of these plant parts, but cows can, and their digestive systems convert it into calories and protein. Even better, they produce nutrients that humans can digest, in the form of milk.
U.S. dairy cows consume a whopping 32–41 million metric tons of these byproduct feeds each year, which would otherwise be waste headed for the landfill.
Now back to you. This year, be a recipe rebel. We just invented that term, but it should be a thing.
Adapt recipes to use foods you have on hand and not leave extra food behind. If your casserole calls for three chicken breasts and you have four, add a little more of the other ingredients and cook that last breast, too. If you’re making a soup, add some extra veggies from your produce drawer. Throw that last dollop of sour cream left over from taco night into your mashed potatoes (trust us on this one — you won’t regret it). Think of recipes as thought starters, just waiting for you to add your own sustainably minded twist on them.
Speaking of thought starters, what ways have you found to eliminate food waste? Let us know on
Instagram @dfamilk.