Sustainable communities offer environmental and social solutions to prevent food waste and strengthen nutritional security
Reducing food waste, or for short CMBAZ, is an idea that seeks to put an end to the phenomenon in which food is thrown into the trash while there are people who suffer from food insecurity. According to data The latest report of Collect Israel, about 37 percent of the food produced in Israel - 2.6 million tons - is not consumed, and does not reach the 1.4 million people living on the islandfood security. This means that the lost food could have helped a large public with the availability and accessibility of a stable supply of varied and healthy food. The "Sustainability and Community 2024" conference, held recently at the Rupin Academic Center in collaboration with the Heschel Center for Sustainability, offered a possible way to deal with this challenge: communities.
The session that dealt with community innovation to reduce food waste and promote food security was led by Dr. Zohar Barnet-Yitzchaki, head of the research group for environmental and social sustainability at the Rupin and Bogar Academic Center interface program. According to him, "the community is a significant component for the success of the food rescue activity." Communities are considered a central tool in creation Local solutions In issues involving environmental and economic-social considerations. Communities that engage in conservation have cultural sensitivity and a deep connection with nature, which gives an advantage to both humans and the environment. An article published last year in the journalEcology and environmentHe called sustainable communities "a driving force and a significant milestone for the promotion of environmental citizenship and effective collective action." That is, when the members of the community understand the damage caused by food waste and struggle together In this phenomenon they develop trust and loyalty among themselves and redefine the social norms in the community. It is not easy or simple, but as shown by two communities whose complex story was presented at the conference, it is possible and has a great impact.
On Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv there is a community refrigerator project called Dizefridge. Volunteers bring leftover food from businesses and markets to the refrigerator. According to Bar Tal, an agronomist and environmental entrepreneur who co-founded the project, the images of food thrown into the trash are an "unbearable sight." Brent-Yitzhaki says that similar initiatives of social refrigerators are taking place all over the country. A social refrigerator is placed in a neighborhood or area, with the aim "that people who have surplus food will transfer it to the common refrigerator". According to him, instead of throwing them away, other people will be able to come and take them from the open refrigerator.
The city does exist
During the days of the Corona, a food rescue project started in the Petah Tikva market - on Fridays before closing, the volunteers come to collect leftover food from the merchants. What is special about this project is not only food security and the strengthening of food security, but also the building of human relationships. According to the words of the volunteers Sharit Zik Hait and Shmuel Abramov at the conference, the project serves an average of 30 clients per week through 10 volunteers. The clients and volunteers come from different and diverse population groups - there Volunteers who work from the ideology of reducing food waste and volunteers who suffer from food insecurity, There are customers who are old and new residents and there are customers who are foreign workers.
Food waste, Burnett-Yitzhak describes, occurs in three stages: among farmers - by destroying produce that is not worth marketing, among marketing chains and businesses - by throwing away products with a short shelf life, unsightly or those with damaged packaging, and among consumers - who buy produce that is not will use it. If the example from the refrigerator in Tel Aviv shows how consumers can unite into a sustaining community around the goal of reducing food waste, then the problem can be addressed at other stages as well. For example, one of the problems of stores is products with a short shelf life. "This hardly happens in Israel," he claims, "but abroad there are marketing chains and stores where areas are allocated to products with a short shelf life, for which less money is paid." For example, there is a significant discount on cheeses with a short shelf life, so that a consumer who wishes to consume the product On that day, he would prefer to pay less for a good product to use. According to him, this not only makes sense, but also creates a significant economic incentive. This way, consumers will be able to purchase cheaply and businesses will be able to sell more products.
drive to the garbage
In Israel there is a "horrendous inefficiency regarding the destruction and throwing away of food", states Burnett-Yitzchaki. The tragedy is that in many cases a lot of resources, energy and work are invested in growing and transporting food that ends up being thrown away. Brent-Yitzchaki cites the wheat crops as an example. According to him, one loaf of bread needs 1.4 square meters of land. On top of that, the water consumption of wheat ranges around 2,000 liters per kilo. "The fact that we transport such large quantities of food that ends up being thrown away causes significant environmental damage that could have been avoided," he explains, for example due to emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants as a result of the transportation.
Even for such an injury done in vain, Brent-Yitzchaki suggests, an economic price tag can be attached. In the annual report of Collect Israel, it is stated that the value of wasted food in Israel is about NIS 23 billion a year, and according to estimates this includes edible food worth NIS 8 billion that is also thrown away. Handling the excess waste costs about NIS 5 billion a year. About NIS 13 billion Others are related to excess health expenses resulting from food insecurity. In light of these data, Blackett Israel estimates that the state can save approximately NIS XNUMX billion per year with the help of a policy that will be promoted Reducing food waste.
Given the security and economic situation, Israel faces high costs and is dependent on food imports, in particular with regard to grains and legumes that are not grown in the country. About 30 percent of the agricultural lands in Israel are located near the fighting zones in the north and south, so during the war More than double the loss of agricultural produce, and the prices of fruits and vegetables increased by 8 and 14 percent respectively. As a result, the ability to consume healthy food is impaired, especially in the weaker sections. "To succeed in the mission, a community, local leadership, initiative, thinking and vision are needed," says Brent-Yitzhaky. Maybe there lies the solution to reducing food waste. "In this case, where the state fails or avoids action, society and the community can initiate and succeed," he concludes.
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