The pair met at a café in Copenha-
gen and agreed that it was insane that
a third of the world’s food produc-
tion is simply thrown away. Jensen
said he had never been fond of bulk
discounts, such as three for two of-
fers. He felt it just encouraged waste.
Juul agreed. Following their meeting,
REMA 1000 announced that it would
no longer offer bulk discounts.
“And it was like a bomb exploded,”
says Jensen with a laugh. “It was big
news. All our competitors said it was
totally crazy.” He says he knew that,
at least initially, his stores would sell
less. “But we crossed our fingers that
in the long run more people would
come, because nobody likes to throw
out food.
“Fortunately now, we have more
and more satisfied customers,” says
Jensen. Maybe the margins are a little
less but we are selling more. It takes
time before people get used to it.”
F
orJuulthiswasjustthebegin-
ning.Overthelast 11 years,
shehasprovedtobea shrewd
media operator,launching
campaignsthatcatchthepublicim-
agination:persuadingsupermarkets
to sell‘uglyvegetables’,forexample,
encouragingtheuseofdoggybags
at restaurants,orpopularisingthe
conceptofUFOs– asin‘unidentified
frozenobjects’. Thesearetheleftovers
we putinourfreezerandthenforget
about.Juulsuggeststhateverysecond
monthweshouldhavea ‘UFOweek’
and eatallthefoodwe’vestoredaway.
At home,Juulputsherideasinto
practice.SheliveswithJakob(they’ve
now beentogetherformorethan 18
years) andbotharepescatarians.They
keep anywastefrompreparingvege-
tables ina potinthefridgeandoncea
week theyturnitintostock,which
they thenfreezeinsmallportionsand
use formakingnewdishes.What’s in a Name?
William Williams knows how you’re goingtoreacttohis
name, because he’s heard it all before.Whenpeopleask
“Are you for real? Are you really William Williams?”the27-year-old
New Yorker replies, “My parents didn’thavea choice.”
That’s because he’s the tenth consecutiveWilliamHenryWilliams,
a name that has been shared by men in hisfamilydatingbackto
18th-century Wales. William Williams X hasthefamilykeepsakes
to prove it — including a Bible from 1854inscribedwiththename
of William Williams IV. X notes that his forebearsallledesteemed
and proud lives, with policemen and judgesinthefamilytree.
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Let’s Stop Wasting Food