Zero Waste Cooking in Africa: Traditional Wisdom for a Regenerative Future

Plant based Ethiopian food shared among friends

Africa has a rich culinary heritage that naturally aligns with zero waste cooking. Our ancestors made the most of every ingredient, using time-honored techniques to minimize waste. By embracing these traditional practices today, we can reduce our environmental footprint, save money, and enjoy delicious, wholesome meals. 

1. Back to the Roots: Make Your Own

Traditional cooking relies on fresh, locally sourced ingredients rather than packaged or processed foods. Making your own essentials—like in the Ethiopian kitchen: injera, shiro, and berbere—reduces waste from plastic packaging and ensures healthier meals. Homemade lemonade and juice are great alternatives to store-bought drinks, cutting down on bottled beverages. Let’s revive these sustainable practices!

2. Cook Everything: Reduce Food Waste

Many commonly discarded parts of fruits, vegetables, and animal products are in fact highly nutritious and versatile in cooking. Utilizing these often overlooked ingredients is an effective way to reduce food waste while maximizing nutritional value and cost efficiency.Vegetable peels, such as those from carrots and potatoes, can be incorporated into soups and stews or baked into crispy snacks. Leafy tops of vegetables like beets and radishes, typically removed during preparation, are nutrient-rich and can be used as cooked greens or added to salads.Animal bones and vegetable scraps can be simmered to produce flavorful, nutrient-dense broths, which serve as a base for various dishes. Overripe fruits, rather than being discarded, can be blended into smoothies, turned into jams, or used in baking to add natural sweetness and moisture.

3. Leftovers & Meal Planning

Leftovers don’t have to go to waste. In Ethiopia, one practical example is dirkosh, dried injera that preserves the bread before it spoils. It can later be rehydrated into firfir or enjoyed as a crunchy snack. Batch cooking and creatively repurposing leftovers—such as transforming yesterday’s sauce into a new dish with different spices—not only saves time but also cuts down on waste. Thoughtful meal planning further supports this effort by ensuring you purchase and prepare only what you need, reducing the likelihood of food spoiling before it can be used.

4. Environmental Impact of Different Food Groups

Choosing sustainable food options benefits not only your health and finances but also the planet. One of the most impactful ways to reduce your environmental footprint is by adjusting your diet, particularly by shifting from animal-based to plant-based foods. The difference in carbon emissions between these food groups is striking. For example, producing one kilogram of beef generates approximately 27 kilograms of CO₂-equivalent emissions, whereas the same amount of lentils or chickpeas results in less than one kilogram of emissions. Beyond greenhouse gases, the water and land requirements for animal-based foods are significantly higher. Producing a single kilogram of beef can consume up to 15,000 liters of water, while pulses such as lentils use only a fraction of that amount—sometimes as low as 1,250 liters.

Eating sustainably also means considering how our food choices affect ecosystems and biodiversity. Industrial livestock farming relies heavily on monoculture crops like soy and corn for animal feed, leading to deforestation and soil degradation. In contrast, plant-based agriculture that embraces diverse crops—such as lentils, beans, millet, and teff—supports healthier soil, reduces the need for chemical inputs, and helps preserve biodiversity.

Another key factor in reducing food-related environmental impacts is choosing local and seasonal produce. Transporting food over long distances—especially by air or long-haul trucks—contributes to carbon emissions, a concept often referred to as "food miles." Local food, on the other hand, usually travels a much shorter distance from farm to plate, reducing emissions and often requiring less packaging. Additionally, local and seasonal foods are typically fresher, more nutritious, and less dependent on energy-intensive storage methods like refrigeration or greenhouse production.

Small Changes, Big Impact

By returning to traditional cooking habits, using every part of our food, and making mindful choices, we can all contribute to a zero waste lifestyle. Let’s celebrate our sustainable food culture and take action—one meal at a time!

Sources:

Elizabeth Green (2025): Exploring Sustainable Protein Alternatives: From Plants To Insects. https://sigmaearth.com/de/exploring-sustainable-protein-alternatives-from-plants-to-insects/?utm_source=chatgpt.com. Accessed on 18/04/2025. 

Li, M., Jia, N., Lenzen, M. et al. (2022): Global food-miles account for nearly 20% of total food-systems emissions. Nat Food 3, 445–453. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-022-00531-w. Accessed on 03/04/2025. 

Tiago G. Morais, Manuel P. dos Santos, Lúcia Barão, et al. (2025): Grazing or confining — Decoding Beef's environmental footprint, Environmental Impact Assessment Review, Volume 112,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2025.107846. Accessed on 18/04/2025.

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