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[Article] - Food Wastage & What We Can Do

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

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.

2. Manage & Reuse

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.

3. Demand Introduction of More Laws on Food Waste

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