Teach GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP Network topic no. 21
Stop Food Waste! Why & How
There is a worldwide growing awareness
about a number of facts concerning food loss and waste:
What’s the problem?
Fact no. 1:
Fact no. 2:
If global food loss and
waste represented a single country, it would be the third-largest greenhouse
gas emitter. (source)
Fact no. 3:
“Food waste at
consumer level in industrialized countries (220 million ton) is almost as high
as the total net food production in sub-Saharan Africa (230 million ton)”
Fact no. 4:
“Food losses in
industrialized countries are as high as in developing countries, but in
developing countries more than 40 % of the food losses occur at post-harvest
and processing levels, while in industrialized countries more than 40 % of the food
losses occur at retail and consumer levels” (source)
Fact no. 5:
“Western
countries throw out nearly half of their food, not because it´s not edible –
but because it doesn´t look appealing.
...
The fact is, we have an enormous buffer in rich countries between hunger and ourselves.
We´ve never had such gargantuan surpluses before, in many ways, this is a great success story of human civilization, of the agricultural surpluses that we set out to achieve 12,000 years ago ...
But what we have to recognise now is that we are reaching the ecological limits that our planet can bear, and
-when we chop down forests, as we are every day, to grow more and more food,
- when we extract water from depleting water reserves,
- when we emit fossil fuel emissions in the quest to grow more and more food,
- and when we throw away so much of it.
then we have to think about what we can start saving"
Quote from Tristram Stuart in a TED Talk: “The
Global Food Waste Scandal” (source)
(Notice: Interactive transcript of
the full speech in 27 languages is available at this ted.com webpage
(interactiveness means here underlining of the text as the words are being
spoken))
Fact no. 6:
“Food that is
harvested but ultimately lost or wasted consumes about one-quarter of all water
used by agriculture each year”” (source)
It does not have to be like that:
“In a world with limited natural resources
(land, water, energy, fertilizer), and where cost-effective solutions are to be
found to produce enough safe and nutritious food for all, reducing food losses
should not be a forgotten priority.”
Source: “Executive Summary” in
“Global Food Losses and Food waste. Extent, Cause and Prevention” FAO 2011 (source)
What can be done?
Initiatives that focus at on the
problem and human responses to do something about it are being taken all over
the world:
Following are inspiring) examples for
your own further study (and for student use if you are teaching):
“LoveFoodHateWaste”
… is a UK-based website with tips and
guidance to everyone. Following are example sections:
“Cut your food bill”
“Keep your food fresh and tasty”
“Get to Grip with date labels”
“Making most of every mouthful”
“Food waste busting recipes”
“ Food saving tools: Try our mobile app, portion and meal planner…”
“Just Eat It. A food waste story”
… is a 74 minute Canadian documentary
film about food waste and what they call “food
rescue” which is the same as ways to stop throwing nearly 50 % of our food
in trash: “It doesn´t require a complete
revolution in the way we treat food. It´s just tweaking it slightly and usually
in delicious ways”
These Canadians have also developed
an inspiring “Classroom educational resource based curriculum guide” to the
film “Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story”
Here are some examples of the
content:
- Pre-viewing, viewing &
post-viewing activities.
- Plan of culminating activity:
“Stop Wasting Food School Movement campaign” including assignment
rubric for individual student assessment.
- 15 web links to consider as starting
points for deepening and discussions.
Link: (10
pages, pdf)
“Think.Eat.Save-Food Waste Campaign”
This campaign focuses on the fact
that at least one-third of all unused food in developed countries is wasted by
households. The aim is to change this by campaigning for “a few simple changes to the habits of those of us who live in rich
and developed countries.”
See the comprehensive website with
lot of links (choose between four languages):
“WeFood”
Opening of the first Danish
supermarket selling only food that would be otherwise be destined for the
rubbish bin. This is one example of overcoming the existing bureaucratic rules
in regard to the sale of food with expired dates.
A second one will soon follow the
first, which opened in February 2016.
Source: “Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Denmark news: “Denmark takes a major step to
eliminate food waste” (link)
“Food Loss and Waste Protocol”
… is a standard for measuring how
much food is lost or wasted, and how to measure progress in reducing food loss
& waste.
It is a new tool, designed to help
reach “Goal 12.3” of “United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals”, which
is to “halve per capita global food waste …”
-Source: News release in Danish on
presentation of the global standard in Copenhagen: “Verdens første madspildsmåler
lanceres I København” (pressrelease)
Website of this new standard: -
“Home-Food Loss and Waste protocol”
Choose between 113 languages! Link: http://flwprotocol.org/
Choose between 113 languages! Link: http://flwprotocol.org/
”Food waste in
Kenya – Uncovering food waste in the Horticultural Supply chain”
As noted above, it is not the
consumers in the developing countries that waste a lot of food, but rather a
lot of food is lost through the practices in the supply chain in the developing
countries.
An example: "Horticulturak exports (flowers, fruits & vegetables) make up 23 % of Kenyas GDP, employing 4,5 millions directly. The study finds that retailer practices, especially cosmetic standards for produce and order cancellations, are resulting in 45% of produce in Kenyan horticultural supply chains being rejected before shipment"
Source: (26 pages, pdf)
Source: (26 pages, pdf)
 |
| Example of cosmetic standards leading to waste of baby corn |
The report has recommendations for change (p. 22-25), including:
- European retailers should relax unnecessary strict cosmetic
specifications in order to allow farmers to sell a larger percentage of the
produce grown for export markets.
- Development of local processing industry, such as mango and banana
drying units, to make biscuits and crisps from surplus fruits.
- Ensure surplus food is being redistributed to those who need it in
Kenya.
The report concludes:” This report
outlines critical areas of business practice that must be addressed to put
an end to unfair trading practices. This will not only reduce the amount of
food being wasted in fresh produce export supply chains, but will also improve
the livelihoods of many farmers around the world.”
Harvest Protection Network
.. is a program to eliminate crop
spoilage losses in the Sub-Saharan community:
Website with deepening articles and
inspiring examples:: http://hpn.africa.com/blog/
…………………………..............................................................................
Last words: Reducing food waste is part of higher UN goals
The benefits of fighting food loss
and waste are easy to see. These will not only reduce food costs and green
house emissions, but also support efforts to eliminate hunger.
These goals are part of the larger
goals of the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda. In 2015 the member
countries of the United Nations adopted an integrated set of goals to end
poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. Each goal has
specific targets to be achieved over the next 15 years.
The goal of reducing food waste can
only be understood as one of the 17 integrated goals in order to reach the
overall objective: End poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for
all.
For the goals to be reached everyone
needs to do their part: Governments, the private sector, civil society and each
of us.
Deepening: “Why the sustainable goals matter”
“Setting goals are important for many reasons …
First, they are essential for mobilization.
Second, they create peer pressures (among political leaders)
3rd: they generate networks of expertise, knowledge, and
practice into action around sustainable development challenges
4th: they mobilize stakeholder networks”
Quote from article by Jeffrey Sachs.
Read the whole article with comparison to the words and actions of John F. Kennedy: (link)
Read the whole article with comparison to the words and actions of John F. Kennedy: (link)
Links to teaching resources on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals
In Danish: Undervisningsmaterialesamling fra en række danske organisationer
til undervisning med fokus på FN´s 17 verdensmål.
Link: http://www.verdensmaalene.dk/materialesamling
Link: http://www.verdensmaalene.dk/materialesamling
In 10 languages: “The World´s Largest Lesson”
Educational resources for children 8-14
created by UNICEF & “The Global
Goals for Sustainable Development” in ten languages: “Everything you need to teach a lesson is right here”
In English: “The lazy person´s guide to saving the world”
“Toolkit for young people who want to be heard” by Action Aid.
“Global Agreements, grassroots
advocacy: Youth and Governance in a post 2015-world”
Link: (19
pages, pdf)
All links were retrieved July 2016
Teach GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP
network topic no. 21
To read any of the
previous 20 newsletters/topics click the links below.
The content is thematic introductions & curated learning possibilities.
The content is thematic introductions & curated learning possibilities.
August 2016, Copenhagen,
Denmark
Egon Hedegaard
No. 19: “I Am Your Friend” Project: An Inspiring Example of Welcoming Refugee Children click
No. 17: How Many Slaves Work for You? click
No. 16: Who Makes our Clothes so Inexpensive? click
No. 15: A Language Dies Every 14 Days click
No. 14: On Life in Slums click
No. 13: Up-to-date African Perspectives click
No. 8: Use School Partnerships to Enhance
English Language Learning (ELL), IT-learning & Competences of Intercultural
Citizenship click
No. 7: “You´re Either Part of the Solution or
Part of the Problem” (On genocide / folkedrab) click
No. 6: Teach about Indigenous Peoples of the World (In Danish: Oprindelige folk) click
No. 5: Human Rights Education click
No. 4: Practicing Global Citizenship Education for Students Aged 3 to 19 click
No. 3: Global Perspectives in Challenging Ways of Learning from Kindergarten to High School click
No. 2: Why Poverty? click
No. 1: Introduction & How to Play an Active Role in Local and Global Society click
No. 6: Teach about Indigenous Peoples of the World (In Danish: Oprindelige folk) click
No. 5: Human Rights Education click
No. 4: Practicing Global Citizenship Education for Students Aged 3 to 19 click
No. 3: Global Perspectives in Challenging Ways of Learning from Kindergarten to High School click
No. 2: Why Poverty? click
No. 1: Introduction & How to Play an Active Role in Local and Global Society click
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