Pledge to reduce food waste

December 21, 2011

With the end of 2011 just around the corner it’s time to think about New Years resolutions – those we aim to keep and those we probably won’t.

If you want a worthy New Years resolution this year, why not pledge to reduce food waste with Feeding the 5000? So far 5,808 people have signed up.

If you’ve not heard of Feeding the 5000 – they campaign to highlight the amount of unnecessary amount of food waste we as individuals (and businesses) create each year. In November this year they held an event at Trafalgar Sqaure where they gave out free meals made from food that would have otherwise gone to waste.

“More than 5000 hungry bellies were filled in less than two hours under a beautiful autumn sun in Trafalgar Square. People feasted on a delicious hot curry made entirely out of fresh misshapen vegetables that would have otherwise gone to waste. Mayor of London Boris Johnson served up the first portions to Londoners who discovered that wonky vegetables are still delicious! Why should they ever be thrown away?”

Some food waste facts from the Feeding the 5000 website:

• An estimated 20 to 40% of UK fruit and vegetables rejected even before they reach the shops – mostly because they do not match the supermarkets’ excessively strict cosmetic standards.
• 4600 kilocalories per day of food are harvested for every person on the planet; of these, only around 2000 on average are eaten – more than half of it is lost on the way.
• An estimated 20 million tonnes of food wasted in Britain from the plough to the plate.

If you decide to pledge, why not ask your friends and family to as well?