Almost everyone feels guilt for throwing food. But the good news is that 4 out of 10, in the last year, are committed to reducing waste (and they have succeeded)
More than six Italians out of ten they did it: they threw some food in the last month. They did it because it had expired (in 44% of cases), because it had mold (41%), no longer had a good smell or good taste (39%) or had been bought too much (36%).
And yet, almost everyone they feel guilty when it happens. According to the data collected by the Waste Watcher Observatory, 9 out of 10 Italians regret having thrown their food. For four out of five people throwing still good food is irresponsible absurdity. And four out of ten have managed to reduce waste, in the last year: it was enough to adopt some simple precautions dictated by common sense, as check what is missing from the fridge and the pantry before going shopping (96% of cases) or freeze the food cooked in excess (92%).
Italians do not like waste: here are what they are countermeasures who have adopted to avoid it. 56% retain the food that has advanced, if you have cooked too much, 46% check if a food is still good even when it has expired, before you throw it, 41% makes sure that food is consumed before it fails, 30% fill out a shopping list to buy only what you really need.
How much is wasted
The data on the amount of food wasted, collected by Last Minute Market, the spinoff of the University of Bologna, but are still alarming: in our homes we throw every year about 36 kilograms per year of food per person. And also in terms of distribution, the figures are worrying: the waste of food weighs 9.5 kilos a year per square meter of sales area in hypermarkets and 18.8 per square meter in supermarkets. This means, for every Italian consumer, a waste of 2.89 kilos per person per capita, ie 7.9 grams per day.
And we know that 35% of these wasted foods could be recoverable for human nutrition. "Eating is an act of justice and civism: towards ourselves, towards others, towards the world", explains the founder of Waste Zero, Andrea Segrè. «The food paradoxes are obvious: 815 million individuals on earth suffer from hunger and 1 person every 3 is malnourished. But in the meantime, one person in 8 suffers from obesity ".
Look, in the gallery, what are the most foods sprecatthe in Italian homes