It will be because you couldn't go shopping every day, it will be because many have had to revise the budget for food purchases, it will be because the time spent in the kitchen has increased: the fact is that during the lockdown more than 1 Italian out of 2 (54%) decreased or canceled the food waste. This is what a Coldiretti / Ixe survey reported on the occasion of the premiere International Day of Awareness on Food Waste and Loss, announced for Tuesday September 29.

More time in the kitchen, more awareness

As explained by Coldiretti, food waste in Italian homes amounts to approx 36 kg per year per capita and it grows during the summer with the increase in temperatures that make it more difficult to store food. Among the foods that end up most in the garbage there are fresh fruit and vegetables, followed by fresh bread, onions and garlic, milk and yogurt, cheeses, sauces and gravies. Although the situation remains worrying, the association underlined, the coronavirus emergency has brought out greater awareness of the value of food. During our time in the kitchen we rediscovered the do-it-yourself, the kitchen of recycling and the preparation of preserves. To reduce food waste, the solutions put in place by families are, in the first place, a prudent expense (74%), then the recycling of leftovers (38%), therefore the attention to product expirations (25%) and finally the donation to charity (7%).

The Coldiretti data are also confirmed by the research conducted by Distal University of Bologna on data collected by MSI-Aci Europe Bv as part of the campaign Zero waste: the 51.6% of Italians wasted less food during the quarantine than in the previous period and the food categories for which the greatest decline was recorded are flour and yeast (43.2%), red meat (42.8%), white meat (40 , 7%), milk (40.4%). As for virtuous behaviors, 47.2% of consumers used the more often shopping list, while 58.6% cooked more and 44.9% had reused leftovers. There time availabilityIt was a significant element, according to the research, because the restrictions due to the lockdown allowed them to focus more on food-related activities such as cooking accurately. plan meals and better organize stocks.

Food waste, a day on awareness

The first is on Tuesday 29 September International Day of Awareness on Food Waste and Loss established by the FAO and the United Nations to focus attention on the consequences of food waste, with the aim of combating Hunger in the world and promote more equitable food systems, but also greener and more efficient. The first edition of the initiative, conceived in December 2019, falls precisely in the year of the coronavirus, an emergency that has made us understand even more the need to change the way our food is produced and consumed to reduce the number of people suffering from hunger, but also to decrease the pressure on environmental resources and the generation of greenhouse gases.

You can follow the official celebrations on the FAO website starting at 4pm. Meanwhile, from 8am until the start of the event, it will be possible to participate in the digital marathon Zero Waste Global Convivium on Future Food Institute channels. During the marathon you will virtually travel between laboratories, kitchens, homes and institutional offices around the world: researchers, chefs, innovators and institutional figures will be connected from three different continents to talk about the problems related to waste and the actions to be taken towards the objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.