Since its inception, Still Good has repurposed over 385,000 kg of spent grains, the grain residue from brewing beer. Whether it’s beer or fruits and vegetables, transforming food that would otherwise be destined for the trash into delicious products gives the environment a big boost.
Discover the three main environmental benefits of repurposing spent grains. Trust us, Still Good cookies will taste even better when you know all this.
1. Reduce food waste
Cooking with existing ingredients instead of throwing them away reduces the amount of waste in compost and landfills. In Canada, it is said that one third of the food in the landfill could have been reused.
Let’s focus on spent grains. According to Statistics Canada, approximately 2,171 million litres of beer are consumed in this country each year. Since the production of 100 litres of beer creates 20 kg of spent grains, Canadians generate 434,200 tonnes (434,200,000 kg) of malt residue per year.
Deciding to revalue these beer derivatives means deciding to reduce the total amount of spent grains in the garbage.
2. Limit greenhouse gas emissions
Globally, food waste is responsible for 8% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. That’s huge. Piling up food with untapped potential in a landfill is part of the problem. One solution? Upcycling these ingredients before they end up in the dump.
In addition to causing carbon dioxide emissions, food waste produces methane, a GHG considered 25 times more harmful to the environment.
It should be noted that in addition to the GHGs linked to landfill, there are emissions generated by agriculture itself. Upcycling spent grains means using them to replace other ingredients, such as wheat. On a small scale, replacing one cup of wheat flour with one cup of ground spent grain flour in a recipe seems minimal. However, the more restaurant chains and businesses join the movement, the less wheat farmers will need to grow.
Thus, the revalued spent grains reduce the production of food directly on the ground. The environment benefits, since GHGs also fall.
3. Maximize the use of resources
By producing less food, we reduce the burden on our food system. It’s simple: by feeding more people with ingredients that are already available, we protect our energy resources, our water reserves and our land.
Intensive agriculture leads to soil degradation, erosion and impoverishment. When we choose to recycle spent grains, we optimize agricultural activities. Planting, growing, harvesting, transporting and distributing fewer ingredients has a direct impact on our environment.
And know that the planet is not the only winner when it comes to recycling: you are too. Reintegrating spent grains, a highly nutritious food (fiber, protein, calcium, iron, antioxidants, etc.), into the food system cycle is a wise decision for everyone.
Learn more about Still Good’s milled spent grains flour. Happy exploring in the kitchen!
Sources
CHETRARIU, A., et A. Dabija. « Brewer’s Spent Grains: Possibilities of Valorization, a Review », Applied Sciences, 13 août 2020. doi : 10.3390/app10165619.
JANUS, Andrea. « More than Half of All Food Produced in Canada Is Lost or Wasted, Report Says », CBC News, [En ligne], 17 janvier 2019. [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/food-waste-report-second-harvest-1.4981728]
STATISTIQUE CANADA. Control and Sale of Alcoholic Beverages, Year Ending March 31, 2020, [Fichier PDF], 21 avril 2021, 7 p.
UPCYCLED FOODS DEFINITION TASK FORCE. Defining Upcycled Foods: A Definition for Use Across Industry, Government, and Academia, [Fichier PDF], 2020, 20 p.
