Food waste in Berlin: How Motatos fights!
Food waste in Berlin: How Motatos fights!
Berlin, Deutschland - food waste is a topic that concerns all of us, especially in Germany. Every year, a whopping 11 million tons of food are thrown away in this country - many of which are still good and enjoyable. This is not only a shame, but also has a significant impact on our environment. According to a report by Berlin Live Problem even more urgent.
A company that takes care of this problem is the online supermarket Motatos. Founded in Stockholm in 2014, it is now also active in Germany and Austria and sells saved foods - many of them with expired best -preserving data (MHD), beauty makers or over overproduction. The managing director of Motatos in Germany and Austria, Dominique Ertl, describes your company as an important contact point for food that does not make it to the shelves of traditional supermarkets. The range ranges from everyday food to unusual products of small brands, even if fresh goods such as fruit and vegetables are currently not available.
Enlightenment and education are the a and end of
Every purchase at Motatos is not only an opportunity for bargain hunters, but also a contribution to reducing food waste. Ertl emphasizes the need for education about food and the right understanding of the best before date. The MHD means that products keep their quality up to this date. However, if you ignore the information and simply throws away products at the end of the MHDS, you ultimately do not harm not only to the environment, but also your own wallet.
Especially older generations often lacks knowledge of sustainable consumption. An education in this area could work miracles, Ertl continues. She also points out that food waste is responsible for 8-10 % of global greenhouse gases. Through proper storage and throwing less away, consumers can drastically reduce their CO₂ footprint.
political measures and EU initiatives
But politics is also required. In the EU, 60 million tons of food are wasted annually - this corresponds to a value of 132 billion euros. In addition to other measures, Ertl also calls for legally binding goals to reduce food waste. This applies not only to production, but also trade and private households. In a current initiative, the EU is planning to reduce the waste in food processing and production by 20 % by 2030 and in retail as well as in households, as Motatos reported.
Originally, these goals should remain behind the 50 percent goal of the UN Sustainability Agenda, but in the European Parliament there are already more ambitious plans in discussion. In July 2023, the Commission submitted a proposal to revise the waste framework directive to reduce food waste.
In order to promote the implementation of these measures, it would be conceivable that companies are both obliged to report on food losses and to donate or resell excess food. A proposal that could advance the circular economy. Consumers should also be better informed in their purchase decision and learn to trust more in their senses instead of relying exclusively on the MHD.
The big question remains: Can we create real change together? The signs are good when the clarification of consumers and the initiative of politics go hand in hand. A world without a waste of food is more than a dream - it could be within reach.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Ort | Berlin, Deutschland |
| Quellen | |