Food waste reduction on the table

Up to 30 per cent of what’s produced on Australian farms ends up wasted, but one mushroom farmer in Melbourne is already trying to make every stem count.

“We’ve been working very closely with my buyer to limit any wastage ... so we then adjust our supply volumes,” Georgia Beattie from Bulla Park said.

“I’ve either got too many mushrooms or not enough.”

If it passes, the bill introduced by West Australian senator Dean Smith will change the tax system to make donating to food relief charities the more profitable option.

The measure would potentially provide food banks with millions of extra meals and discourage the dumping of food, helping Australia reach its bipartisan commitment to halve food waste by 2030.

The bill is based on a tax incentive proposal developed by food relief organisations Foodbank, OzHarvest and SecondBite, and reflects similar policy in the US, France and Canada.

The proposal was a key recommendation of the House of Representatives agriculture committee’s probe into food security.

Stakeholders will have an opportunity to make submissions, with a parliamentary report to be delivered by October 30.

Atop a mushroom mound, waste warrior Georgia knows more can be done, and described the plans to incentivise farmers to donate surplus food as a “game-changer”.

She also plans to build a zero-waste studio at her farm at Diggers Rest in Melbourne to give her mushrooms and other produce a second life.

The drying facility aims to maintain the nutritional profile of the fruit or vegetable while also increasing its shelf life.

“The problem I have is perishability, so rather than having to find a home for the mushrooms in three or four days — otherwise they go to waste — I’ve then got this option to dry them,” Georgia said.

Bulla Mushrooms is positioned close to the distribution centre where farmers drop their goods.

And the plan is for the multi-million dollar zero-waste facility, helped in part by a grant from its customer Coles, to eventually open to all nearby farmers.

“Sometimes what happens at a (distribution centre) is a product’s rejected because it got there too late, or it’s not within spec, so I’m happy to take them and dry them.”

Georgia, who also sits on the board of food charity Second Bite, which rescues and redistributes food, wants a rethink on how fresh produce is treated.

The studio idea has won the support of Second Bite chief executive officer Daniel Moorfield.

“Having a facility that can actually convert it into something which would allow it to be used for a longer period of time, that’s so important,” he said.

Data shows more than a billion kilograms of fresh food and vegetables are wasted on Aussie farms every year.

The world needs to produce 60 per cent more food to feed a growing population by 2050, according to the United Nations.

“Anything we can do to take that food surplus that Australian farmers produce and actually give it to those in need would be so good,” Daniel said.

Almost half of all Australians interviewed in a national survey for the charity last September admitted to skipping at least one meal a week due to economic reasons.

“Our need is worse than ever. People are more cognisant of food waste and what they can do to reduce it,” Daniel said.

The zero waste facility, which is to be powered by solar and wind, could be up and running by as early as the end of 2025.