Här ska inget gå till spillo — eller åtminstone mindre

Det händer saker!

Jo, faktiskt!

Samtidigt som vi slänger och slänger och slänger mat varenda dag här i Sverige, och samtidigt som det säkert är ännu värre i en del andra länder, och samtidigt som Birgitta delar ut de små matpaketen i Rift Valley i Kenya för att få utsatta barnfamiljer på fötter — samtidigt finns det de som försöker tackla matsvinnet och matorättvisorna i stor skala. Selina Juul i Danmark har otäcka siffror men också ett förslag på hur länderna i EU ska kunna ta itu med problemet.

Och i Danmark finns en antimatsvinnsrörelse, eller ska vi kanske säga en tavarapåallmatenrörelse, Stop Spild af Mad, som arbetar med både opinionsbildning och praktiska vardagsråd och recept.

Heja, heja!

Här är ett pressmeddelande som jag fick häromdagen.

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European Alliance against Food Waste

Countries in EU are wasting 89 million tonnes of food every year. This is equivalent to 179 kg for every EU citizen. A new EU project teams up 21 partners, including two Danish ones, to try to stop the meaningless waste.

EU forecasts indicate that the European food waste will increase by 42 % over the next eight years. In 2020, every Italian, German, Danish and in total half a billion Europeans will annually waste a quarter ton of food. It will send all food waste in Europe to astronomical 126 million tonnes per year.

”In 2010, I spoke at the European Parliament in Brussels,” says Selina Juul, Founder of Stop Wasting Food movement Denmark. ”Since then, I signed an international Declaration against food waste on behalf of Stop Wasting Food movement along with several European organizations. The Joint Declaration Against Food Waste intended to commit the EU to reduce food waste by at least 50 % before 2025.”

The Declaration served as inspiration for the European Parliament’s resolution against food waste. This year, the European Commission started to approve the idea of setting ambitious goals for the reduction of food waste.

Stop Wasting Food is now pinning the project’s 21 Partners on the map of Europe with the start of a 4-year European cooperation against food waste: FUSIONS (Food Use of Social Innovation by Optimising Waste Prevention Strategies). Among the Partners involved in FUSIONS is UN Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO.

Among the other 20 Partners from 13 European countries involved are universities, institutions, NGOs and companies. The project is funded by the European Commission’s FP7. More than 80 European organizations have expressed their support for the FUSIONS.

”The good news is that the EU Commission not only prepares statements, but also puts them into action,” continues Selina Juul. ”This is due to the fact that the Commission has now supported the FUSIONS-project. The project is the first joint and transnational action against food waste — and even in these gigantic dimensions. We are very pleased to be a part of it.”

Comparable measurements

The initial objective of the project is to standardize the measurement of food waste, as it is currently difficult to put precise and comparable figures on food waste in the EU. Partly because of the many different methods that are used in different countries.

Next aim is to create a European platform of governmental and non-governmental organizations and companies from the food chain, i.e. industry, retailers and consumer organizations. The platform aims at providing simplified data that can identify and evaluate new initiatives to reduce food waste. Furthermore, the results will be disseminated to the public, and the development of technical and policy recommendations to the entire value chain and the EU.

The platform will then activate, engage and support the main players in the European food value chain in order to deliver a reduction of 50% of food waste by 2020.

The Stop Wasting Food movement has currently a large international network and has been repeatedly included in international publications on the subject, including FAO report on food waste ”Global Food Losses and Food Waste”.

Since 2008, Stop Wasting Food movement (Stop Spild Af Mad) put focus on food waste in 500+ articles in newspapers and magazines, as well as more than 40+ radio and 34 TV appearances. Among them BBC News and German TV channel ARTE. The movement has earned support of several thousands of Danish consumers, MP’s and MEP’s, as well as leading Danish food personalities. Among the prominent supporters of the movement is Denmark’s former Prime Minister Mr. Poul Nyrup Rasmussen. The movement collaborates with Danish Government as well as leading Danish and international stakeholders against food waste.

Selina Juul has published an award winning leftovers cookbook “Stop spild af mad – en kogebog med mere” with contributions from Danish top chefs, often speaks about food waste on international conferences and assemblies and was recently one of the Speakers at TEDxCopenhagen.

The second of the two Danish Partners is communication agency Communiqué, which is part of Edelman – the world’s largest PR network. Director at Communiqué Frans Grandjean is looking forward to cooperation:

”The fight against food waste is an unusually sympathetic case, and we have cooperated with Stop Wasting Food movement for over a year with the preparation of the EU project. We look forward to beginning the work in the project and assist Stop Wasting Food with execution of the work. Dissemination is an important part of the fight against food waste.”

You can read more about the Partners in the project.

For more information, contact Stop Wasting Food (Stop Spild Af Mad)