Wellness Wake Up Call

Good morning, this is your Wellness Wake Up Call with Kristin Bogdonas, nutrition and wellness educator for University of Illinois Extension, serving Rock Island, Henry, Mercer, and Stark Counties. Question for you: Would you take a shower that lasts 42 minutes? What about 6 hours? You might be thinking that sounds like an absurd question because who would waste that much water? Well, here’s a startling fact. The true cost of food waste is hidden so each time you throw food away at home or at a restaurant, you are also wasting the energy, resources, water and labor that was used to grow, process and transport that food to your plate. For example, the amount of water wasted when food is thrown away can be measured in shower minutes. A pound of bananas that ends up in the trash is equivalent to a 42-minute shower. A pound of ground beef, on the other hand, is equivalent to a shower lasting over 6 hours! How can we be so careless with a resource that we hold so dear? It is estimated that