Sources from web)
Shop according to your possibilities: this is the new corporate vision of those who do good to others and to our Planet.
We are used to receiving only bad news, the media make more noise with the bad news, but looking good at the bottom of the page of some information site you can find something good.
It is the case of INCONVENIENCE
a "pay what you feel" supermarket, that is, you pay according to your economic possibilities.
Isn't it a wonderful initiative?
And fortunately in recent years many other beautiful initiatives, like this, are being born ready to help people with economic problems as well as fighting food waste and consequently an aid for our Planet.
Sources from web)
Today we are all taken from our daily problems and some disconcerting fact escapes us: people in the world who live in a situation of serious food insecurity are about 108 million.
From a recent study conducted by FAO about 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted every year in the world of which about 80% still consumable.
222 million food is wasted in industrialized countries alone a figure that would be enough to feed the entire population of sub-Saharan Africa.
Sources from web)
Among the main causes of food waste surely there are the bad spending habits of millions of people. We put more things in the cart than we really need.
This is even due to the continuous promotions of the supermarkets that push consumers to buy more food.
Another bad habit is the non-observance of the indications on the label on the correct way to preserve food. This leads more easily to the deterioration of the product and consequently the impossibility of consuming it.
The expiry dates of the products, especially the non-fresh foods, are often too rigid, so a few days after the expiry the product, if intact, can be consumed.
Another cause of waste is the tendency to serve too large portions of food and this also affects our health.
Now I understand that an ethical and moral discourse on food waste can result boring but it is a real spending and it's not just a global economic cost but also a considerable annual expense for each family.
Have you ever thought about how much money we would save if we did not waste food?
For example in Italy, in my country, domestic waste is worth a total of 8 billion euros a year, or about 30 euros per month per family for about 600 grams of wasted food. (Sources: Redattore Sociale)
American families throw away about $ 640 of food each year.(Sources: Usa Today)
Food waste is costing the average Australian family more than $ 1,000 a year.(Sources: ABC.net)
Sources from web)
But can we find ways to reduce our food waste?
The answer is Yes just commit ourselves to perform small daily actions:
- Always making the shopping list to buy only what is necessary
- Choosing local producers whenever possible
- Buying seasonal products
- Using less processed products
- Learning how to recover our leftovers by turning them into new delicious dishes
- Doing not serve excessive portions.
In short, TO COMBAT WASTE AT THE ROOT, IT'S NECESSARY TO CHANGE OUR WRONG BEHAVIOR that determines food waste.
It is time to question us about the consumption imbalances in the world and social disparities between those who waste and who has no food.
Fortunately a lot of Not-for-profit Organisations and spontaneous citizens' organizations propose inspiring initiatives that work to reduce food waste worldwide, through campaigns to recover and recycle food that is redistributed helping many people in difficulty and consequently control food waste.
As in the case of INCONVENIENCE store which deserves to be mentioned for its wonderful initiative.
In this Melbourne supermarket, customers can buy food and pay for them according to their economic possibilities. But not only, the products can also be taken for free. The shop is open to everyone because everyone can go shopping, even those who have a regular salary, but hates the waste of food and wants to protect the planet, as well as man.
The Inconvenience store collects its products from some nearby supermarkets such as Aldi, Coles, and the Preston Market, which give their products no longer fresh and can be sold at a much lower price.
Sources from web)
Reducing food waste also means protecting our planet.
Food production alone accounts for one third of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Yet a third of the hard-earned food ends up in the trash.
But isn't it a contradiction?.
We need to rethink our relationship with food looking for productive strategies that use less resources and do not encourage deforestation, review the chain of conservation and distribution that determines large losses of food that does not even arrive on our tables - left to rot in the fields or ruined during transport for example -, as well as our consumption habits to cut waste.
Because choosing to put low impact food in the dish, it means enough resources for everyone and a more sensible exploitation of our planet.
Thanks a lot for visiting my blog hoping you enjoyed my post.
My posts you may like:
August 1, 2018, Point of No Return. #but what the hell are we doing to our Planet?)
Hey we need our Planet but our Planet doesn't need human beings!! - POINT OF NO RETURN PART 2 )
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