Food use
When we talk about food waste we are talking about throwing it away. Put simply, we should not throw away food that is fit for human consumption. Disposing of things such as bones, peels, shells, vegetable and fruit skins or any organic waste that cannot be used responsibly is not considered to be food waste.
In Catalonia, some 720,000 kg of food is thrown away every day. More than half of this is thrown away by households, but it also takes place in restaurants, bars, catering services and shops. This wasted food, totalling 262,000 tonnes per year, is enough to feed 500,000 people for a whole year.
The consequences of food waste go beyond the obvious social impacts. The whole process of production, storage and transport leaves a significant ecological footprint. When we throw away food, we are also throwing away the resources that went into its production - soil, water and energy - and we are indirectly contributing to the increase of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. This impact is magnified when the amount of food we throw away is significant, as the further away the food is produced, the more transport-associated CO2 emissions are generated.
By following a few simple tips, we can help to reduce food waste in the city of Barcelona and avoid the negative social, environmental and economic impacts of this activity.
