Taste the waste… lucky bastard!

I am one of those lucky bastards who when it comes to food only has to worry about what she/he fancies cooking/eating for the next meal… not about if she/he is actually gonna be able to eat at all. Are you too? Good for you!

Did you know there’s more than one billion hungry people in this world?

I remember how when we were kids, my mom would always force us to finish that last bite in our plates, that little piece of bread that we would push on the side after we had our share. How she would tell us how lucky we were not to know what real hunger is.

I am a lucky bastard: I don’t know what real hunger is… Sometimes I get too excited and buy or cook too much, or get busy and forget food in my fridge or cupboards until they are way past the date and just good to throw away. I can’t help but to feel my heart sink then and still after a while I forget and it happens again.

Do you have any idea how much food is wasted every day?

Today is World Food Day 2010*. At the occasion of this year’s theme ‘United Against Hunger’, there will be international broadcasts** of the edifying documentary Taste the Waste, by Valentin Thurm about the worldwide destruction of food. Please, have a watch, it’s terrifying!

 
* Want to know more? check out the global website of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) or the national websites for a list of events and activities close to you.
** There are international TV screenings planned in The Netherlands (Nederland 2 on October 16, 2010 at 9.30 a.m. and on October 17 at 11 p.m.), in Sweden (SVT on Oct. 24), in Ireland (TG4), Spain (TV3), Lithuania (LVT), Finland (YLE), Switzerland (TSR), Norway (NRK), Cyprus (CYBC), Greece (ERT), South Korea (CREO) and many other countries. In Germany the first run will be on ARD on October 20, 2010 at 11:30 p.m.