The number of pumpkins grown and sold for Halloween (All Hallows’ even) is a huge figure in the U.S., (and many other countries, like the U.K. and Canada). In the U.S. alone it expected that around 150 million pumpkins will be carved to create jack-o’-lanterns. This is despite the average price per pumpkin climbing to $5.4 (up from $4.12 five years ago, reflective of global inflationary pressures).
The origin of these weird and wonderful carvings probably began with other root vegetables as a way of representing the strange lights that sometimes flicker over peat bogs (will-o’-the-wisps).
Despite the expenditure and pumpkins providing a nutrient rich food source, most of the inside of the pumpkin is discarded. Taking the U.K. as an example, it is estimated that 39.9 million pumpkins will be bought this Halloween. Of these, a 22.2 million pumpkins will go to waste with the contents left uneaten.
This constitutes more than 18,000 tonnes of edible pumpkin flesh heading for the trash. Figures in the U.S. and Canada, and elsewhere, are at similar proportions of discarded food.
This is part of the startling figure of overall global food waste. Across the world, a third of all food produced for human consumption (estimated to be around 1.3 billion tonnes) goes to waste. At the same time, there are 820 million people in the world who do not have enough to eat (according to Global Citizen).
Another problem is with the waste itself. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, pumpkins that end up in landfill will naturally decompose and this process emits the greenhouse gas methane. Methane produces more than 20 times the warming effect of carbon dioxide.
One of the longest-running campaigns to use pumpkin flesh rather than discard comes from the social activist group Hubbub. According to Trewin Restorick, Founder and CEO of Hubbub: “We must recognise that pumpkins are a valuable source of food and not just for decoration…Halloween is a great opportunity to help our children understand where food comes from and involve them in cooking a simple meal with their pumpkin carvings.”
A 100-gram (or 3.5 oz) amount of raw pumpkin provides a source of provitamin A beta-carotene and vitamin A. in addition, Vitamin C is present in moderate content. A pumpkin is composed of 92 percent water, 6.5 percent carbohydrate, 0.1 percent fat and 1 percent protein (according to the USDA).
To address pumpkin waste and to encourage people to cook the flesh from the vegetable, a series of campaigns are running. (Several are labelled #PumpkinRescue on social media).
Examples of what to do with pumpkin flesh include:
- Pumpkin curry
- Pumpkin butter
- Pumpkin pie
- Pumpkin seed pesto
- Vegetable stock
- Pumpkin lasagne
Plus, a host of other ideas.
Pumpkin waste can also be used in animal feed, with ‘dog treats’ representing an option.
Another alternative for pumpkins looks like being an alcoholic brew. According to The Guardian, the U.K.’s first commercially brewed beer made from pumpkin flesh that would otherwise go to waste will go on sale at the end of November 2022. The beer comes from Toast Ale, a social enterprise that already produces a beer made from surplus bread.
The new beer with be a Belgian-style pumpkin dubbel produced using squashes collected by volunteers from local farms.
There are also ideas for the hollowed out pumpkin post-Halloween. From All Saints Day onwards, one website suggests using the carved pumpkin as a bird feeder or as a planter.
