6 RECOMMENDATIONS TO REDUCE FOOD WASTE

6 RECOMMENDATIONS TO REDUCE FOOD WASTE

ALL TOGETHER IN THE FIGHT AGAINST FOOD WASTE!

On the  International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, we share 6 simple and useful recommendations for reducing waste that you can discover here…[Read more]

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF AWARENESS OF FOOD LOSS AND WASTE. 

According to a recent report by the Waste Watcher International Observatory on Food and Sustainability, based on an Ipsos survey, in 2020 Italian households used food more wisely, with a 11.78% waste reduction compared to the previous year: a saving of nearly 6 Euro per personor 376 million Euro nationally, equivalent to 222 thousand tons of food.

This was reported by Alessia Maccaferri in her interesting article published by the Sole 24 Ore newspaper, which clearly shows how the action of each individual can impact macro scenarios.

It is important to highlight, however, that fighting food waste is not just about environmental and economic responsibility, it is also an act of social responsibility. This is especially true when we consider that one of the adverse effects of the pandemic is the exponential increase in households and individuals who experienced economic hardship, up to 45%, from 31% in 2019, many of whom were seeking help at CEI structures and food banks in particular.

Reducing waste has an impact on everyone’s welfare.  

Food waste is a liability in the family budget, it signals distraction from the cultural and human resources producing food and has a negative impact on the environment.

There is a growing body of research on this theme, and it underlines how, with zero food waste, we could be able to drastically reduce the space subtracted from forests and other natural areas by farming, which is critical for climate and biodiversity, and also reduce our waste of water and other resources for food production, with beneficial effect for the eco-system.

Furthermore, industrialized countries, with their wasteful attitudes, subtract resources from developing countries.

This vicious circle means that we need to revise our daily habits, placing the right emphasis on our menu planning and shopping habits, in order to avoid any type of waste. A strategy that each of us should personally adopt, in order to get closer to the goals of the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 and thus defeat hunger and poverty while promoting our health and that of our planet.

In the words of Gandhi: “Be the change you want to see in the world”

We share 6 simple recommendations and we invite you to join us in the fight against food waste:

• ESTABLISH what food you have in the fridge and cabinets before shopping;
• READ and follow carefully the food storing instructions on the label;
• CHECK expiry dates on your food and place the foods that expire first at the forefront of your larder;
• CONSIDER what is the right amount of fruit and vegetable you need in the short term for your shopping;
• PREPARE preserves with the fruits that are ripe but not immediately needed. Use vegetables for soup making. They last a long time in the freezer. If you forgot to adequately check your storage, RE-USE fruits and vegetables to make: jams, preserves or vegetable soups.
• SHARE your shopping with people who may need it, if you realize you have bought too much.