Make a shopping list and buy "funny fruit" to cut food waste and help the world "shape a sustainable future," two UN agencies urged this week.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and partners unveiled a campaign dubbed "Think-Eat-Save Reduce Your Foodprint" to change global practices that result in the loss of 1.3 billion tons of food each year.
The program is aimed primarily at consumers, food retailers and the hotel and restaurant industry, and is based on three recommended actions: think, eat, and save.
"In a world of seven billion people, set to grow to nine billion by 2050, wasting food makes no sense - economically, environmentally and ethically," a statement quoted UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner as saying.
FAO Director General Jose Graziano da Silva pointed out that in industrialized nations, around 300 million tons of food are wasted each year, "because producers, retailers and consumers discard food that is still fit for consumption."
That is more food than is produced in sub-Saharan Africa, and is enough to feed the estimated 830 million people who now go hungry worldwide, he added.
Consumers can participate in a global effort by respecting a few simple recommendations, the U.N. agencies said.
Planning meals, making shopping lists and avoiding impulse buying helps, as does staying alert "to marketing tricks that lead you to buy more food than you need."
Another good idea is to "buy funny fruit" or vegetables that would otherwise be thrown out because their size, shape or color do not meet market standards.
Retailers can offer discounts for food that is nearing its sell-by date, standardize labels and donate more food.
Restaurants were urged to "limit menu choices and introduce flexible portioning," to audit how much food they waste, and to set up "staff engagement program."
Finally, an Internet site, thinkeatsave.org is to serve as a global platform for sharing information on other initiatives that people come up with.
