To reduce food waste, scraps and leftovers from cooking can become the star of the show in healthy, easy and delicious dishes.
Combating food waste and hunger is one of the UN’s 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals. In 2011, about one third of all edible food products worldwide were thrown away. In 2019, over 900 million tonnes of food were wasted, about 17% of the total available for the world’s population (Source: UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021). While still “good” food was thrown out, according to the latest report on the state of food security and nutrition, in 2021, the number of people worldwide suffering from hunger rose to 828 million – 46 million people more than in 2020. Furthermore, about 924 million people (11.7% of the world’s population) suffered from serious food insecurity, an increase of 207 million in just two years (Source: Fao). In Italy in 2022, from losses in the field and waste throughout the food distribution and industry chain, over 4 million tonnes of food were lost, worth a total value of approximately €9 billion. On average in Italian homes, 524.1 g per capita are thrown out a week, i.e. about 75 g of food a day and 27 kg a year (Source: Osservatorio Waste Watcher).
Food waste is not just a social problem, but also an environmental one, as it is linked to the loss of raw materials, energy and resources. Firstly, Romagnoli is actively committed to research and development in innovative, eco-sustainable packaging solutions that respect the environment and take into consideration the whole life-cycle of the packaging and the impact this can have in relation to the food, optimising its preservation and reducing food waste as much as possible. Secondly, Romagnoli’s social and environmental commitment can be seen in its reduction of all forms of waste, including food, with a view to a circular economy based on recovery and reuse. With this in mind, the #zerowaste recipe column is here, which aims to offer gourmet dishes that reuse waste and leftovers from cooking, turning them into ingredients that are the star of the show in healthy, easy and delicious dishes.
Image: Canva
