FOOD WASTE / ADVANCER

If only a quarter of the food that is now being wasted or lost was to be saved, that alone would be enough to feed the almost one billion people around the world who go hungry daily, a UN food expert said ahead of a new campaign against food waste to be launched in Geneva tomorrow. FAO / FILE

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:30
• Production Date: 21 January 2013
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION - FAO; WORLD BANK
• Subject Topical: FOOD INDUSTRY; NUTRITION
• MAMS Id: U130121d

Description

STORY: FOOD WASTE / ADVANCER
TRT: 1:30
SOURCE: FAO / WORLD BANK
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS / FILE

DATELINE: 16 JANUARY 2013, ROME, ITALY / FILE

Shotlist

FILE – FAO – MAY 2012, GAMBIA

1. Various shots, Kerr Pateh village market
2. Med shot, the market

FAO – 16 JANUARY 2013, ROME, ITALY

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert van Otterdijk, Team Leader of the Save Food initiative, Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO):
“In industrialized countries about half of this quantity, half of the one third is the result of food wasted by consumers and retailers. While in developing countries the food waste is less than five per cent, so 95 per cent is food loss.”

FILE – FAO – MAY 2012, GAMBIA

4. Various shots, women going to the storage room where rice is kept away from rodents
5. Various shots, woman spreading out her red onion harvest to dry

FAO – 16 JANUARY 2013, ROME, ITALY

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert van Otterdijk, Team Leader of the Save Food initiative, Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO):
“We clearly see that in the high income, counties or the industrialized countries. The quantities of food waste are very high while they are minimal in developing countries. So there is a clear relation between wealth and peoples’ income and throwing away good food.”

FILE – 16 MARCH 2011, KIGALI, RWANDA

7. Various shots, market woman food seller
8. Pan right, covered market

FAO – 16 JANUARY 2013, ROME, ITALY

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert van Otterdijk, Team Leader of the Save Food initiative, Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO):
“If only a quarter of the food that currently is lost or wasted can be saved it would be enough to feed the 879 million people who are hungry in the world at this moment.”

FILE – JANUARY 10 2012, MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE

10. Various shots, Sasseka grain processing and packaging facility

Storyline

If only a quarter of the food that is now being wasted or lost was to be saved, that alone, would be enough to feed the almost one billion people around the world who go hungry daily.

That is the estimate of an expert from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), interviewed in advance the launch of a United Nations campaign on food waste. The campaign which starts Tuesday, will aim at concrete measures to tackle the problem of reducing the estimated 1.3 billion tonnes of food wasted or lost each year.

Robert van Otterdijk, an Agro-Industry specialist and Team Leader of the Save Food initiative at FAO, says that if they can succeed, the world’s hungry could be fed.

Van Otterdijk said the problem is divided between food loss, which is that which is lost in food production and distribution, mostly unintended, and food waste which is when food arrives at the retailers and consumers but is thrown out for whatever reason.

He said worldwide about one third of food gets lost or wasted each year.

SOUNDBITE (English) Robert van Otterdijk, Team Leader of the Save Food initiative, Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO):
“In industrialized countries about half of this quantity, half of the one third is the result of food wasted by consumers and retailers. While in developing countries the food waste is less than five per cent, so 95 per cent is food loss.”

He said there is a relation between wealthy people and waste.

SOUNDBITE (English) Robert van Otterdijk, Team Leader of the Save Food initiative, Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO):
“We clearly see that in the high income, counties or the industrialized countries. The quantities of food waste are very high while they are minimal in developing countries. So there is a clear relation between wealth and peoples’ income and throwing away good food.”

The answer, he said, is to cut out both waste and loss.

SOUNDBITE (English) Robert van Otterdijk, Team Leader of the Save Food initiative, Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO):
“If only a quarter of the food that currently is lost or wasted can be saved it would be enough to feed the 879 million people who are hungry in the world at this moment.”