Italians toss 76 kilograms of food annually, says Coldiretti
(ANSA) – Rome, October 16 – Every Italian throws out an average of 76 kilograms of food each year, illustrating the extent of waste that adds to the world’s problems with hunger, according to statistics released Wednesday on World Food Day.
Food waste across Italy reaches between five million and 10 million tonnes annually, according to national agriculture and food organizations. In fact, the average Italian wastes about 28 euros per month by throwing away edible food, adds the Italian Farmers Confederation (Cia) which calculates world food waste totals as much as 10 million tonnes of food annually.
Only the economic crisis and Italy’s worst recession since the Second World War have slowed the pace of food waste, which has dropped by 25% over the past five years, said Coldiretti, a national farm organization.
Italians seems to have become better over that period at preparing and reusing food in ways that cut down on waste, the group said in its report released as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization marked World Food Day.
But with about one-third of the world’s food going to waste each year – about 1.3 billion tonnes – global policy makers must implement policies that recognize the strategic nature of food.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis condemned the continuing problem of hunger and malnutrition around the globe, including the shocking amount of waste and indifference.
Francis said that about one-third of the world’s food production is wasted, adding “we need to modify our lifestyles including our eating habits”.
“This waste of food is one of the results of our throwaway culture that often leads to the sacrifice of men and women before the idols of profit and consumerism”.