OzHarvest has launched a campaign called #countmein to encourage people to do more on food waste.
OzHarvest founder and CEO Ronni Kahn pointed out that as many of us experience "eco-anxiety", feeling helpless in curbing climate change, reducing food waste is one way everyone can make a difference.
Food waste is often overlooked in the climate change debate, but it contributes eight per cent of global greenhouse gases, which is more than the aviation sector. Rotting food in landfill creates methane, 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
“The amount of food we waste is hard to visualise as once it goes in the bin it’s out of sight and out of mind, which leads us to think we don’t actually waste that much. 298 kg per person is a staggering amount – the same weight as six adult kangaroos. Urgent action is needed if we are to achieve the national target to halve food waste by 2030.”
Reducing food waste is ranked the third most effective solution to reduce global warming, according to Project Drawdown. Taking action today could prevent 70 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere in the next 30 years and is one of the most effective ways for individuals to protect our partnership with the planet.
