Here’s a nice collection of reader suggestions on how to use-it-up and avoid waste, as compiled by my friendly local newspaper.
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Che? Any Italian speakers want to help me out here? I’m guessing that 30% of Italian food is wasted, but there’s a lot on that page!
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When the Voice of Agriculture speaks, I listen. Especially when it’s a well-crafted argument against waste.
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This just in from A Prairie Home Companion WXOW: Gundersen Lutheran is donating uneaten conference food to help feed folks at a nearby shelter.
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Finally, if you’re in or near Birmingham, Ala., boy do I have a book club for you!
4 Comments
30% of purchased food ends up being discarded in the garbage can, 37 billion euros, 3% GDP
the left side says (from the top):
food waste has increased 50% in the western world since 1974; 3 billion people could be fed with that (952 million people in the world are hungry; 7 million children die every year)
32.5 million tons of food discarded every year, including packaging (541 kg/pro capite); 33% of that is organic material; 44 million people could be fed with that, like Spain’s population
In Italy we discard:
15% of bread, 15% of pasta; 18% of meat; 12% of fruit; 12% of vegetable.
[my note: it’s not clear to me what the denominator is for those numbers]
Hope this is helpful.
Very helpful, Simona! Grazie Mille!
I wonder where the Italian numbers come from–who has done such a detailed study. I’ve seen most of the other numbers before…
Re: The voice of agriculture. The American Farm Bureau is the chief lobby for diverting corn to ethanol production which will drive up the cost of food for everyone. If they keep it up then they won’t have to lecture anyone on food waste as people will be scraping for every kernel they can find.
Joseph,
Interesting. Their ‘About Us’ section on the web seemed pretty innocent. But since I’m not a big corn-to-ethanol fan, that’s good to know. Anyway, I agree with the opinions expressed in the piece.