More Food Wasted

Despite the crisis and the fact that more than half of the world has not enough food, more food ends up as garbage in the Netherlands. This was reported on Tuesday evening by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The consumers are responsible for the majority of the food waste. Comparing to 2009, an astonishing 6 to 60 kg more food was wasted per person in 2011.

Besides the consumers, the potato processing industry and the bread processing sector are also big wasters. Part of the waste is recycled in these sectors and is used as food for cattle or is composted. Nevertheless, a big part is burned in incinerators.

ChristenUnie MP Carla Dik-Faber urges for a debate about the increasing waste of food, she said Tuesday, immediately after the Ministry of Economic Affairs made the news public. “We have to take measures now. It is unbelievable that we throw away kilograms of food per person while in a big part of the world there is a shortage of food.”

The industry is not doing enough effort to reduce the wasting of food, complains Dik-Faber. “Since 2009 all parties are talking and negotiating about this problem, but in the meantime the wasting of food has increased. Companies have to reduce the wasting of food with 20% in 2015.”