The fight against food waste
Food waste affects all links of the food chain: from the field to our plate. Preventing it is not just an ecological necessity. It's also ethical and economically important.
WASTE LESS FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Did you know that a third of the food for human consumption is wasted? It's about 2.5 trillion tons of food. That means every year 79 tons of food per second is wasted. At the same time, the world population is growing to nine billion people by 2050. As a result, it is expected that we need sixty percent more food. But currently, 44% of all waste is food; forty percent of this is wasted at the merchant or consumer level. Together we can prevent a large part of this.
Do you already know the initiative 'Too Good To Go'? Take a look at www.toogoodtogo.be
Two bakers are already sharing their experience with the concept here.
BAKER JIMMY COENEN (Coenen bakery in Lummen, Belgium)
“We came into contact with Too Good To Go by friends of ours. We immediately thought it was a good idea: it is a new challenge to reduce food waste. We make people happy with it and we don't have to throw anything away anymore. It supplies us a positive image. We offer packages for value of at least fifteen euros for € 4.99. In this way we ensure less waste and deliver the consumer a nice extra.”
BAKER JOHAN BUELENS (Bakery Buelens in Willebroek, Belgium)
“We see new customers in our store because of the concept. This mainly concerns the middle class,
who is engaged in a more conscious life. We also attract younger customers, who might otherwise go to a department store. Almost every customer who picks up a package, buys something extra. So extra sales and an active approach to food waste. I recommend it to everyone!"
- Donate to the food bank.
- Offer your own packages by the end of the day with a discount and communicate this to your customers, so they know about it. Social media is ideal for this!
- Process leftovers into other products, such as filled croissants or bread pudding. You can also offer homemade croutons or a German try out a classic like the Granatsplitter.
- Tackling the 1.6-Billion-Ton Food Loss and Waste Crisis | bcg.com
- Driven to Waste Global Food Loss on Farms | WWF | panda.org
- What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste
- Management to 2050 | worldbank.org
- Make #NotWasting a Way of Life | fao.or
Check our article about Vincente Rodriguez, who is a self-taught chef.
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