The food center in Oslo “rescues” every single day large quantities of food that would otherwise end up in the trash. General manager Per Christian Rålm of the Food Center Norway shows around the warehouse in Oslo. Here there is an abundance of food that should have been thrown away – but which now comes in handy. MATSCENTRALEN: Managing Director Per Christian Rålm in Matsentralen Norge. Photo: Matsentralen Norge – Right now we notice a huge increase in the need for food, and we need much more food than we can get, he says to news. He presents potatoes, peppers, salad and chilli – and tacos for the Friday meal. And the potential to “save” more food is enormous, according to Rålm. They expect to distribute 10 million meals this year, but managed 15 million. – When it comes to the potential for how much we can collect in total, we know that food waste among professional actors amounts to approximately 200,000 tonnes in Norway today. A good part of that volume could have been donated, he says, and adds: – Actually, it’s only the imagination and collaboration that sets some limits, we could have taken a lot more. “REDDES”: Via Matsentralen’s warehouse in Oslo, food that should have been thrown away is turned into millions of meals. Photo: Nadir Alam / news Hidden waste Demand for reduced food waste is not new. But now a recent report from Green House and Framtiden in our hands shows that the hidden food waste seems to be at least as large as the recorded food waste. The report looks at which edible products are not eaten, and which are also not defined as waste. This applies to grain that could have become human food, laying hens that become asphalt and livers and lungs that become fur animal and pet food for domestic sale and export. that cod roe is only defined as food part of the year depending on when Norway exports the most. Norwegian carrots are plowed down, at the same time as we import carrots from the Netherlands. HIDDEN: Report author Marit Fausko from Green House says there are big gains in reduced food waste. Report author Marit Fausko from Green House says there are big gains with less food waste. – There are environmental benefits, self-sufficiency benefits and financial benefits – and perhaps also health benefits, she says. The report “Underutilized food resources on the menu” is launched on Thursday, on the UN’s Food Waste Day. The report finds, among other things, that: The hidden food waste appears to be at least as large as what is currently counted in the official food waste statistics. The grain that is grown in Norway today, but which is not eaten by humans, could feed over 4 million people. It is not registered as food waste when we systematically destroy over 3 million hens and 30,000 goat kids a year. We could produce 15-20 percent fewer animals and feed the same number if we had eaten the whole animal. The report defines underutilized food resources as “edible food that is not eaten, and which is also not defined as food waste”. This autumn we also read about farmers destroying their crops. The reason is that high electricity prices make it too expensive to refrigerate food. – We have to think differently about food, what we should eat. But there is also a lot that can happen at industrial level, which is about equipment to take in larger parts of the animal, the grain or the vegetable crop in products we already eat, says Fausko. In a situation with war in Ukraine and a food crisis, Norway would not have needed to import grain. – If we use the resources better in Norway, we can import less food and thus place less on the world’s food plates. 100 million loaves of bread One year ago, the Labor Party and the Center Party promised in the Hurdal platform to reduce food waste and create a new food waste law. But since then, 100 million loaves of bread have gone into the trash in this country, according to Framtiden i våre händer leader Anja Bakken Riise. – It is a very sad symbol of how much waste of resources has occurred in the past year, all the time the government has not put in place a new food waste law, she says to news. The figure is based on the total weight of discarded bread and baked goods in the entire value chain in 2020 in a report from the Norwegian Institute for Sustainability Research (Norsus). The entire weight of the “bread and baked goods” category is translated into the number of loaves with an assumed average weight of 720 grams. LAW: The future in our hands leader Anja Bakken Riise demands that politicians take action to reduce food waste. Photo: André Børke In July, food prices in this country made a huge jump. The historically high food prices should speed up the work to get a law against food waste in place, she believes. – We believe that we need a law that obliges all parties in the food industry to contribute to preventing and preventing food waste from occurring. – How should a law be? – The most important thing is to make the various parties in the food industry responsible. Today we see that not everyone works as actively to prevent food waste from occurring, she says. – It may actually turn out that it pays to have a shop overflowing with fresh bread and vegetables that lures people into the shops. Then you end up throwing away a lot of food unnecessarily. The law should be made so that food waste is cut all the way, from the farmer and the fisherman, via the grocery store and to the dining table at home, demands Bakken Riise. Both carrot and stick must ensure that the food industry orders the right amount of food, sells more in bulk and in smaller packages and spreads information on how to use up the food. And there is apparently no lack of political will. Already in 2017, seven out of nine parties were in favor of such a law. In the same year, the Storting decided that a law should be investigated. – Not concluded Agriculture Minister Sandra Borch (Sp) does not have the opportunity to be interviewed about the matter, but responds in an e-mail. – When it comes to the food waste law, there is still a need to assess how a possible food waste law should be structured to contribute to the achievement of targets. We have not reached a conclusion here yet, says the minister. FOOD WASTE LAW: Agriculture and Food Minister Sandra Borch (Sp) has announced a new law to reduce food waste. Photo: Dan Henrik Klausen Borch points out that the industry agreement for the reduction of food waste is the government’s most important tool for achieving the goal of Norway halving food waste per inhabitant by 2030. – The industry agreement’s first main report on food waste was presented in December 2021. It showed that in Norway in 2020 almost 10 per cent less food was thrown away than in 2015, says the minister, and adds: – Now that food waste from the primary industry to the consumer has been reported, it gives us a better opportunity to find the causes of food waste in the entire value chain. If we find the causes, we can identify and implement measures against food waste throughout the value chain.
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Waiting for a new law – 100 million loaves of bread in the bin since Hurdal – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
