Food waste: how to avoid it at home

According to the UN, 17% of the world’s food is wasted PEXELS

houses responsible for 60% WasteTherefore, our role and actions as consumers have a significant impact in the fight against food waste. But as consumers… how can we solve this problem and balance food waste in our homes?

In fact, only a few Here are some very simple moves to try to reduce and prevent food waste in our homes:

Planning

• Just check the fridge and pantry thoroughly before making the shopping list. necessary items in our shopping cart.

• to organize weekly menu To use previously perishable products. Creating this menu will enable us to make our diet more balanced and nutritious by regulating all food groups as well as preventing this waste.

organization

• Deploy after purchase is complete. anytime oldest foods in front new ones to reduce the possibility of letting a forgotten product expire or lose its properties.
• To differenciate Date endstating that this product should not be consumed or that it is not recommended to be consumed after that day, and preferred consumption, this applies to products that are much more durable and stable.

Consumption

• calculate quantities appropriately. before cooking. This simple step is very helpful in avoiding overcooking and spoiling it or throwing it away.
• Lever food pre-cooked leftovers for making other dishes.

These small but effective actions can help cure this increasingly worrisome problem. But not only consumers should take action. Food companies must also step up and work together to end the problem.

According to the UN, 17% of the world’s food is wasted PEXELS

To get an idea of ​​the problem, the weight of food wasted each year equivalent to approximately 23 million trucks According to UN figures, 40 tons of fully loaded would circumnavigate the Earth seven times, one after another.

“Reducing food waste, in turn, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, prevent destruction of nature through land conversion and pollution, increase food availability, thereby reducing hunger and saving money during a global recession,” UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen emphasizes.

“If we want to be serious about tackling climate change, loss of nature and biodiversity, pollution and waste, companies, governments and citizens around the world must do their part to reduce food waste,” Andersen says.

Goal: reduce waste by 50%

Target is to reduce consumer food waste by 50% by 2030. “With 690 million people affected by hunger in 2019, the number expected to increase sharply with covid-19, and 3 billion people who cannot afford a healthy diet, consumers need help reducing food waste at home,” the UN warns. .

The United Nations advocates for states to increase their “climate ambitions”, including food waste, in nationally determined contributions to the Paris Agreement. And it also strengthens “food security” and reduces “costs for households”. All this makes the prevention of food waste “an important area that should be included in covid-19 recovery strategies”.

The report’s findings changed the belief that household food waste is a major problem only in developed countries, and that production, storage and transportation losses are concentrated in developing countries.

“With the release of the Food Waste Index report, we see things are not so clear,” says WRAP chief executive Marcus Gover. and charitable foundations”.

To build on the report, UNEP will launch regional working groups to help countries train on measuring food waste for the next round of SDG 12.3 reporting in late 2022.

The working group will also support countries in making progress towards achieving the 2030 target and designing national strategies to prevent food waste.

Food Waste Report: https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/35280/FoodWaste.pdf

……

Environment department contact address:[email protected]