Friday, August 12, 2016

Stop Food Waste! Why & How

 

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:

A third of the global food production is wasted”. (source)


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.




“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):
THINK.EAT.SAVE REDUCE YOUR FOODPRINT Link: http://www.thinkeatsave.org/



“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/


”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)

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)


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

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”

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.

August 2016, Copenhagen, Denmark

Egon Hedegaard


No. 20: Border-crossers, Mediators & Go-betweens. Don´t We Need More of Them? click

No. 19: “I Am Your Friend” Project: An Inspiring Example of Welcoming Refugee Children click

No. 18: Three Pillars of Success in a Democratic Society: 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. 12: See “Where Children Sleep”, What´s Your Thoughts? click

No. 11: What Is Good “Citizenship Education” Today? click

No 10: Place-Based Education Projects as Part of Global Engagement click

No. 9: ‘The third Planet from the Sun’ – a Global Dimension Case 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



Stop Food Waste! Why & How

 

Teach GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP Nework topic no. 21



Stop Food Waste! Why & How


There are a worldwide growing awareness about a number of facts concerning food loss and waste:

What’s the problem?



Fact no. 1:

A third of the global food production is wasted”. (source)


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.




“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):
THINK.EAT.SAVE REDUCE YOUR FOODPRINT Link: http://www.thinkeatsave.org/



“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/


”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)

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)


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

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”

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.

August 2016, Copenhagen, Denmark

Egon Hedegaard


No. 20: Border-crossers, Mediators & Go-betweens. Don´t We Need More of Them? click

No. 19: “I Am Your Friend” Project: An Inspiring Example of Welcoming Refugee Children click

No. 18: Three Pillars of Success in a Democratic Society: 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. 12: See “Where Children Sleep”, What´s Your Thoughts? click

No. 11: What Is Good “Citizenship Education” Today? click

No 10: Place-Based Education Projects as Part of Global Engagement click

No. 9: ‘The third Planet from the Sun’ – a Global Dimension Case 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