The World Environment Day is celebrated on the 5th of June. It was introduced in 1972 when the United Nations conference on the Human Environment Began. Since then every year people organize and participate in different events and activities to raise awareness and understanding of how important the environment is.
This year’s host country is Mongolia and the topic of this year is Think.Eat.Save. It is a campaign against food waste. According to FAO’s statistics people waste 1.3 billions of food annually, it is equivalent of all the food produced in Sub-Saharan Africa. Wasting this food means wasting all the labor, energy and water inputs that were used for its production.
Furthermore, food industry occupies 25% of all habitable land and is responsible for 70% of fresh water consumption, 80% of deforestation, and 30% of greenhouse gas emissions. It is the most significant driver of biodiversity loss and land-use change.
This enormous food print is a sum of individual food choices. Change can be done by each of us if we consider what food to buy and how to waste as little as possible. By planning your food purchases carefully and by taking a picture of your fridge when grocery shopping you can prevent buying what you already have. Try to use dinner leftovers for breakfast omelets, buy locally and eat seasonal fruits and vegetables. The 5th of June this year is a day for learning to appreciate our food each and every time we have a meal.
Hashtag for twitter: #WED2013
Hashtag for instagram: #thinkeatsave