[Article] - Food Wastage & What We Can Do
10:25 AM
We all know that many people around
the world live in extreme poverty, lack basic living conditions and die of
starvation because there is not enough food supplies getting to them. This is
exactly why it comes as a complete shock to find out from the official UN
statistics that the food wastage in the world is actually one third of the
total global food production. In other words 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted
every year in both developed and developing countries, which costs close to a
trillion US dollars per year.
Food
wastage statistics are so alarming because people don’t usually pay enough
attention to the issue and do even less to minimize some of the environmental
and economic impacts. The good news is that we can all help save the planet,
better the economy and feed the starving nations. Let's check this out.
Picture courtesy : www.appetti.com
Picture courtesy : www.appetti.com
1. Raise Awareness
Most
people don’t even realize how serious of a problem the food wastage in the
world is. Many of us rarely think that we can reuse some of the meals we didn’t
finish at lunch or dinner, or we choose to dispose of the unattractive food.
The unattractive fresh foods are actually much healthier
than the good-looking ones on the most store shelves.
Another
common misconception is that our earth doesn’t have the resources to feed all
humankind. That's definitely wrong! The Earth produces enough food for each and every one of us,
however, we are not managing it properly. While some parts of the world enjoy
abundance and variety of foods, other regions simply can’t get their hands on
even small amounts of the production. The more people know about these facts,
the more they will think about ways of preventing food wastage and its many
impacts. So what you can do is share articles, talk to people about it and keep yourself informed
at all times.
It
is always worth to plan in advance your weekly food shopping so that you don’t
buy things you don’t need. Be sure to check the expiry date of all products you
get for your household and you don’t end up throwing them away if they get spoilt
before you had the chance to eat them. This will not only save you money but
will also help the equal distribution of food in the local community at the
very least.
It
is not compulsory that you have to dispose of all leftovers after lunch or
dinner. In many cases this food is still good to be refrigerated and reused or
recooked later. There are plenty of recipes online that can help you transform
your last meal into something completely different but equally delicious for
the next time you feel hungry.
Food
waste environmental impact is not something that should be overlooked. Dumping
and mismanaging food supplies takes its toll on the water, climate and
biodiversity. Always remember to separate your household’s food waste from the
plastics and general waste as it makes it easier for different types of garbage
to be recycled or destroyed. Putting everything into one container delays the
process and costs a lot more money to the government.
Some
developed countries, like the UK have made it their mission to minimize the
food waste and its global environmental and economic impacts. There are plenty
of laws that target mainly farmers and food producers, but little has been done
to prevent restaurants and the everyday consumer from wasting unreasonable
amounts of food. A lot of the fresh fruits and vegetables that don’t look
presentable enough are simply disposed of, either in the shops or at home and
in many cases even before they have left the farm. Instead they should be sent
to countries where poverty and starvation are the main factors for the local
population’s suffering.
There
are plenty of laws and regulations of health and safety for restaurants and
food serving venues put in place to protect the consumer. Sadly, those rules
often increase food wastage, rather than decreasing it. It is worth for the
governments around the world to come up with suggestions and recommendations on
how to manage and preserve ingredients and supplies more efficiently in order
to minimise commercial food wastage in restaurants.
Online
petitions and campaigns are a good way to get this process started as they are
easy to set up and distribute to a wide audience.
4. Use Technology, Get
Ideas
All
this seems too much to deal with in your busy lifestyle? No worries, thank God
for brainiacs who came up with the ideas of cool food waste apps that keep you
informed and give you simple ways of saving money and managing food waste,
while you are on the go.
One
great app for social media lovers is Feedie. It works by you sharing a picture
of a meal you had from a participating restaurant on the platform. When the
photo is uploaded it turns into a donation from the venue, which goes towards
the hungry children in South Africa.
If
you are one of those people who often fails to use certain foods before their
expiry date this food waste app, Foodkeeper, will help you better understand
the lifetime of the products you buy and eat. It gives you clear guidelines on
storage times of items like baby foods, beverages, dairy products and many
others.
Talking
about making a difference in your community, we cannot skip mentioning the
LeftoverSwap app. Imagine you went a
little bit overboard with the lasagna and your family simply can’t finish it
all. Instead of tossing it in the bin, share it on the app and you may just
give someone from your local community the dinner they were dreaming about for
some time.
Food
wastage in the world is a pretty serious issue, which concerns us all,
regardless of our location or status. As such, it must be addressed by all of
us. There’s never too little that you can do, because no matter how low your
level of engagement is, it’s always better than doing nothing. Don’t live on
the old saying “ignorance is bliss”, but do your research and make changes in
your lifestyle to help your budget, feed the hungry and save the planet!
LeftoverSwap app download link :
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.greasedwatermelon.leftoverswap&hl=en
Source : www.appetti.com
LeftoverSwap app download link :
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.greasedwatermelon.leftoverswap&hl=en
Source : www.appetti.com
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