Every year, 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted in the world, or roughly one third of global food production. Vegetables alone account for 24% of all food waste. Reflecting an increasingly green approach to food, the Louis Bonduelle Foundation offers a few tips to avoid wasting plant-based foods.
Combating waste of plant-based foods
The waste of plant-based foods is the result of accumulated losses at each stage of the food chain. In Western countries, an individual consumer produces approximately 100 kg of waste. All of these losses are problematic on three major levels:
- economic
- environmental
- ethical
So how can we reduce these losses?
All the prevention campaigns in recent years highlight the importance of eating plant-based foods, to the point of making some consumers feel guilty. People end up buying vegetables to placate their conscience, at the risk of letting them go to waste.
Encouraging people to eat vegetables should not lead to an increase in food waste. Plant-based foods should be the main ingredients of a meal. Here are a few ways to optimise your consumption of plant-based foods.
These tips can also be applied to food products in general.
Want to find out more about food waste?
Download our monograph