What a waste

Our world faces a whole range of problems. For example climate change, deforestation, different types of pollution (waters, land, air), and food waste. The statistics are quite frightening  to look at. While about 690 million people are still undernourished, the amount of food we waste globally is shocking. The total amount of wasted food is between one-third and one-half of all the produced goods in a year.

The list of the most wasted types of food contains, for instance, fruits and vegetables, roots and tubers, dairy, meats, and fish and seafood. The most outstanding ones of the list with a staggering total of 46% are fruits and vegetables, 46% of roots and tubers, and 35% of fish and sea food.

(Photo: Christo Anestev from Pixabay)

But what is the reason that so much fish is wasted every year? Unfortunately, the steps needed in the supply chain for fish and sea food products create waste as well. During commercial fishing at least 8-10 % of the caught fish is discarded. Either because it's bycatch – species unintentionally caught -, or fish that don't meet the size standard, and of course there are some that spoils during transport. Besides all of this, the most are wasted by the consumers themselves.

Fortunately, there are quite a few organizations globally that try their best to improve fisheries' sustainability. Reducing bycatch, monitoring species, and educating consumers about species that are more sustainable are just a few of their activities. There are people who try to fight against the loss as well by creating new ways to use up e.g. the offcuts, skins, and shells.

What can we do to help? Since a lot of food is discarded uneaten and spoilt (fruits, vegetables, fish) or in their package, one of the things we can do is to buy only as much as we need. Not only does it save you money, it helps in all levels as well. Plan your list well, then prepare and store your food correctly so it lasts as long as it can. For more information in these topics please visit the links bellow. Let's all of us try our best!

Sources:

https://toogoodtogo.org/en/movement/knowledge/what-food-is-wasted

https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/world-hunger-facts-statistics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_waste

https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/we-re-running-out-seafood-yet-we-waste-billions-pounds-it

 (Cover photo: Darkmoon_Art from Pixabay)