NEW YORK, OCTOBER 4 – As part of the events for the International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste (September 29), Italy, in its capacity as Chair of the Group of Friends at the UN for Food Security and Nutrition, has sponsored a collaboration with FAO and UNEP (UN Environmental Program) for a day of volunteering at the Refettorio of Harlem in New York.
Bottura in Guterres’ SDG Advocate Group
Volunteers from various member states of the Group of Friends (which includes over 50 countries from all continents) took part in the project, created as part of the broader “Refettori” initiative by Chef Massimo Bottura, whose goal is to offer nutritious meals to those in need using surplus food that would otherwise go to waste.
Last September, Massimo Bottura, the superstar chef who put Modena on the map og high cuisine and already a Goodwill Ambassador of UNEP, became part of the “SDG Advocate Group,” a group of international leaders and influencers appointed by UN Secretary-General Guterres to amplify awareness and implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Chef and founder of the Michelin-starred restaurant, Osteria Francescana in Modena, Bottura has been recognized as a social entrepreneur for his commitment to the fight against food waste and social isolation, which is one of the main goals of the non-profit organization he founded with his wife Lara Gilmore, Food for Soul. During the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy, his family produced an online cooking show called Kitchen Quarantine, which encouraged people to see the invisible potential in every ingredient, an invitation to enjoy the unexpected beauty in daily life.
An estimated one-third of all food produced – about 1.3 billion tonnes – is wasted or lost each year. About 14 per cent (of food global and as much as 40% in some markets) spoils before it even reaches retailers, as a result of market connection problems and lack of sustainable cold chains – the refrigeration systems that keep food fresh after harvest and in transit.
Food loss and waste generates eight per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Cutting it back is one of the most effective ways through which individuals, businesses and governments can reduce their climate impact. The production of food that ends in waste requires land larger than the surface area of China and India combined, and water resources three times greater than the volume of Lake Leman. The unnecessary use of these resources has immense negative impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity.
(@OnuItalia)
