Food waste in Berlin: A big badness!

Food waste in Berlin: A big badness!

Berlin, Deutschland - In Germany, over 11 tons of food end up in the trash every year, many of them still completely edible. A worrying fact that is particularly pronounced in large cities like Berlin. The online supermarket Motatos, which was founded in Stockholm in 2014, has faced the challenge of reducing this food waste. It sells saved foods in Germany and Austria and is committed to ensuring that more edible products get into households. The managing director of Motatos in Germany and Austria, Dominique Ertl, describes the company as a place where food that does not make it into the regular supermarket. Berlin Live reports that the range of everyday food Small brands are enough, with delivery to the doorstep.

Food waste is not only a national, but also a European problem. Around 60 million tons of food are lost in the EU annually, which corresponds to ecological stress of 132 billion euros. Motatos emphasizes that 8-10 % of the total emissions are due to food waste. The demand for more ambitious goals to reduce food migration is louder, especially with regard to binding national goals in Germany. These are urgently necessary to achieve a noticeable desired reduction in food waste along the entire production chain.

In the European Parliament, considerations were made how the wasted foods can be significantly reduced. In this way, binding reduction goals in food processing and retail are proposed. The EU reports on how A reduction of 20 % in the production and processing Restaurants and in households by 2030. Furthermore, it should be checked which higher goals for 2035 can be achieved.

a new approach for dealing with food

A central point in the discussion is the clarification of the MHD, which misleading many consumers. Suggestions for the abolition of the MHD and the introduction of a production date could help to better clarify consumers and to bring them to their senses more. Ertl from Motatos also demands that companies should be legally obliged to either donate excess food or to resell them. German politics is required to act accordingly in order to minimize both the economic and the ecological costs of food waste.

Time is urgently urgent: In order to be successful in the fight against food waste, not only innovative business models such as that of motatos, but also sustainable measures are needed by our politics in order to set the course for a better future. All actors - from private to commercial - should contribute to their part so that fewer foods are landed in the trash and saving valuable resources.