InconvenientTruth,” she says. “And
I wokeup.”J
uly2008.It’sthefinalevening
ofa holidayinCroatiaforJuul
andherboyfriend,Jakob,and
they’resittingeatingdinneron
theterraceoftheirhoteljustoutside
thepicturesquecoastalcityofSibe-
nik.It’stwoyearssinceJuulsawAn
InconvenientTruthanddecidedthat
sheneededtodosomethingtomake
a difference.Thiseveningtheanswer
suddenlycomestoherfromnowhere.
Whyisnoonefocusingonfoodwaste?
Afterall,foodproductionisthethird
highestproducerofCO 2 intheworld.
“Thatnight,I wastooexcitedto
sleep,”shesays.Shesitsmakingnotes
andevenquicklydrawsa logoforthe
movementthat’stakingshapeinher
head:simpleredandwhitewordson
a blacksquare.Thenextday,when
shegetsbacktoCopenhagen,there’s
a storyinoneofthenewspaperssay-
ingthattheDaneswasteanaverage
63 kilogramsoffoodperperson every
year.
“Itwasa sign,”shesays.
ShestartsaStopWastingFood
Facebookgroupthesameday.People
join.Momentumbuilds.Withintwo
weeks,Juulisattractingtheattention
oftheDanishmediaandgivingin-
terviewsaboutfoodwaste.Andthen
shegetsa callfromAndersJensen,
thebuyingandmarketingdirector
ofREMA1000,thebiggestdiscount
supermarket chain in Denmark.- Onethirdofallfoodproduced
forhumanconsumptionends
upbeinguneatenand
discardedeveryyear–around
1.3billiontonnesoffood–
costingtheglobaleconomy
closeto$940billion. - Fruitandvegetables,
includingrootsandtubers,
havethehighestwastagerates.
WHATCANYOUDO?- Mostpeopletendtobuymore
foodthantheyneed.Checkthe
fridgebeforeyoushop. - Planyourmeals.It savestime,
moneyandreducesfood
waste. - Checkdatelabelsandknow
thedifferencebetween:
‘Useby’–foodhastogo.
‘Bestbefore’–foodisatitsbest
andcanbeeatenafterthisdate
aslongasit hasbeenstored
correctly.
‘Displayuntil’–a stockcontrol
messageforretailers. - Getcreativewithleftovers.
- Askforsmallerportionsora
‘doggybag’wheneating out.
SOURCES: W WF.ORG.AU; FAO
FOOD WASTAGE
AND HOW TO
REDUCEIT
IN THE HOME
88 April 2020
READER’S DIGEST