The food waste problem
Thousands of tonnes of food are wasted every year worldwide. And this problem is not exclusive to those who simply throw food away. After all, the leftover dinner that ended up in the bin is just the tip of an iceberg that hides a harsh truth. And we want to tell you what it is.Let’s take a packet of biscuits. Now, take 9 biscuits out and imagine that the whole food supply in the world is represented by those 9 biscuits.
Now take 1 biscuit and throw it away.
That one is lost even before it leaves its origin. Be it from a lack of infrastructure, of refrigeration, of pasteurisation, grain stores or even fruit crates, that “biscuit” is spoiled even before it leaves the fields.
The next 3 biscuits are the ones we use to feed livestock. The maize, the wheat, the soy we feed our animals with.
Unfortunately, because they are also inefficient, they turn two thirds of that food into faeces and heat, so another 2 “biscuits” are wasted, and we only keep 1 of the original 3 in meat and dairy products.
The reality we can fight
We’re left with 6 biscuits. Of those, we will throw 2 away directly into the bin. Either at home or in the supermarket or into restaurant bins.
Do you want to know ways you can help reduce food waste? Check out these tips!
After all this waste, what’s left?
We’re left with 4 to feed the world.
Of those 4 biscuits, almost 3 are for the rich, developed countries and only a bit more than 1 is left for the rest of the world.
Not a very efficient use of global resources, especially when you think that there is now a billion people facing hunger in the world.
So, next time you are about to throw some kind of edible food to the bin, keep this in mind and stop doing what you are about to do. That’s the first step towards a better world for everyone – starting with you.
