- Hi, I'm Merle, and today I'm gonna tell you why
I make zero-waste Tasty videos.
Tasty has a huge presence on the internet.
So I feel a little responsible
for the content that we put out there.
And I think we should be cognizant
of our impact on the world.
We get into habits when it comes to cooking,
and we get them everywhere,
from our grandmother, our dad, TV, you name it.
I wanted to encourage people to think differently
about how they cook, maybe get a little crazy,
try something new.
I think the term zero waste
comes with a very high built-in expectation.
But think of it more as
as close to zero as you can get.
Some waste in day to day life is just unavoidable.
But as soon as you start thinking sustainably,
it'll spread to other areas of your life,
and the people around you will start to catch on too.
That's how you can create change.
I'm not as concerned with food waste
as I am with, say, plastic because it's organic
and can naturally decompose when composted.
You can get really creative with the ways
you use extra parts of vegetables.
The stalks of broccoli and cauliflower are jam-packed
with nutrients, and the tops of leeks are full of flavor.
Challenge yourself.
It could be fun.
And maybe you'll find a new recipe that you absolutely love.
I'm not the only one who's done sustainable content.
Auri has been doing wonderful content for years,
and I'm sure you all know,
Rie has done some really cool
zero-waste challenges.
And like, who doesn't love Rie?
I'm sorry that I'm not Rie.
If you cook at home,
you probably know that you don't always use
every single part of the vegetable.
This video is inspired by something I do at home myself.
I keep a little bin in my freezer
where I collect any food scraps
that I produce throughout the week.
Every week or two, I have enough scraps
so that I make a fresh batch of vegetable stock.
If you're not buying your own vegetable stock,
you're saving money,
you're cutting back on overpackaged goods,
and you can control the flavor.
One of the number one comments I saw on this video
was people saying to make sure you wash your vegetables
so it's not like a trash soup
when you make the vegetable stock.
Like, yes.
Definitely wash your vegetables.
Even if you're not making vegetable stock,
you should wash any fresh produce that you get.
And once you have your veggie stock,
make sure to compost your scarps to be 100% waste-free.
My brother Nathan is the one
who told me that this was even possible in the first place.
So, I owe this success to him.
Thanks, Nate!
After that video proved to be a success,
I was like, okay, so there's an audience here.
How can I take food scraps
and make them work for people even more?
Let's regrow some vegetables.
This video is another good example
of encouraging people to use their food scraps
instead of throwing them away.
And similar to the veggie stock video,
you actually get free food from doing this.
One of the top comments I noticed was
that people were saying they wished they had more room
in their home or their apartments or that they had a yard
so that they could actually regrow their own food.
Of course, most of us can't grow all of our food at home,
but you can grow some of it.
The whole point of this video is that you don't need a yard.
If you have one window with just a little bit of light,
you can probably grow most of these things in this video.
The food we eat travels from all over the country,
and in some cases, all over the world, to get to us.
How nice would it be if you had just a few things
growing in your very own kitchen?
A lot of people tell me they kill every plant they own.
And you know what?
I've killed plants too.
It happens.
It's part of the process.
Some of them are gonna bite the dust.
But, in the end, it's so worth it.
Scallions grow like weeds.
Seriously, if you just clip off the bottoms
and put them in a little bit of water,
those babies will be sproutin' in no time.
If you try to grow scallions and nothing happens,
you should move out of your apartment,
because it's probably haunted.
Learning about how much food waste we produce
was making me feel a little bit hopeless, and I hate that.
So, I was like, this is what I'm gonna do.
Show people 10 easy ways to help the environment
in day-to-day life.
Plastic is a huge part of this.
Plastic bags, plastic bottles, plastic wrap,
utensils, straws.
It's everywhere.
Only about 9% of plastics are recycled.
So if you're thinking,
it's fine to buy overly packaged goods,
because you're gonna recycle it, (imitates buzzer).
You're better off just not using the plastic at all.
Luckily, there are plenty of reusable alternatives
to all of those things.
Pick the ugly produce.
Just do it.
It tastes the same.
Other people are a lot less likely to pick it,
and then it's gonna go to waste.
Utilize your freezer.
If you have fresh produce
that you think is just about to go bad,
toss it in the freezer.
You'll give it a much longer shelf life.
Another really easy way to make your produce last longer
is to store it correctly.
Tomatoes and peppers are two things
that I am always pulling out of my friends' refrigerators.
Make sure you look up
what things should go in the refrigerator
and what things don't need to go in the refrigerator.
This will improve both the shelf life
and the taste of your produce.
I recognize that going zero waste
or even just reducing waste is a privilege in itself.
It's not something that's available for everyone.
And unfortunately, overly packaged
and overly processed foods tend to be the cheaper options.
Getting fresh produce can get expensive.
So all you can do is the best you can do.
Finally, I think it's time
we start to talk about composting.
Okay, composting may not be the sexiest thing in the world,
but bear with me.
It's very, very simple.
I'm gonna break it down for you.
The composting effect happens
when you mix nitrogen-rich waste with carbon-rich waste.
Basically, green stuff and brown stuff.
After a few months, the compost will break down
into really nutrient-rich soil
that you can use in your houseplants, in your garden,
or give away to friends and neighbors.
The compost bin that I use at home
is a small countertop one,
and it has a carbon filter in the lid
so you can't smell anything.
If you don't feel like having a compost bin on your counter,
you can always just freeze your food scraps
and drop them off at the nearest compost receptacle.
Over time, landfills create anaerobic environments
for breaking down matter.
These oxygenless environments break down organic matter
using methane-producing bacteria.
That methane is then released into our environment,
contributing to global warming.
So when you compost at home,
or when you drop your food scraps
off at a composting facility, you're ensuring
that your personal waste doesn't contribute
to greenhouse gases and instead can be recycled
back into the earth.
I understand how overwhelming it can feel
when you think about the state of our environment.
Composting is a really easy way to do your part.
See if you can bring the practice of composting
to your work, or your school, or your home.
That little change will make a big difference,
and it's an easy way to become more waste free
and environmentally friendly in your day-to-day life.
I genuinely believe that most people are good
and that they want to do good.
But you can't expect people to turn their lives
upside-down, just because you say they should,
or I say they should.
A more constructive way to get your point across
is to state the problem,
offer easy and approachable solutions,
and make it clear what people have to gain from doing it.
If you do that, and you don't give up,
you can absolutely make a change.
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