If food waste were a country, it would be the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, behind the U.S. and China.
I was astounded to hear this last week at the Q&A session with the Director of the film 2040. In Australia up to 40% of the waste in an average household bin is food (Foodwise). Rotting food emits methane, a gas that is twenty-five times more warming in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.
However it is something that we can all do better as individuals – it is not a solution that is out of our grasp. We can all choose to only purchase what we need and to compost.
For more information:
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/01/150122-food-waste-climate-change-hunger/
How Reducing Food Waste Could Ease Climate Change
The energy used to produce wasted food generates more than 3.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide.
Felicity Maher
Sustainability Officer
