According to a report prepared by the UN, a third of the food produced for human consumption worldwide is wasted or lost every year, which means some 1,300 tons of food thrown away. This is a chilling figure if we take into account not only hunger in the third world, but also the economic hardships that a large part of the Spanish population affected by the crisis is going through.

Rummage through the trash

• It is increasingly common to see people rummaging through garbage cans, at the exit of a restaurant or a supermarket. Many times, what leads people to do this is the simple need produced by a scarcity of economic resources. And it is that the containers of restaurants and supermarkets become an authentic free shopping basket for the amount of food in perfect condition that they deposit there.
• Perfectly usable and consumable products end up in the containers due to poor management, because they are close to the expiration date, because they present packaging defects or labeling errors, etc. This waste is not only an offense against those who have nothing, but also significant ecological damage.
• That is why you can find among those people who rummage through the containers, people who do it not because they do not have sufficient financial resources, but as a form of protest. It is a social movement on the rise that denounces the waste in which we live and calls itself freeman.

Ideas for not throwing away food

• At the domestic level, we also throw away too much food, unaware that we can do a few things to avoid this habit that is so oncological and completely lacking in responsibility and social sensitivity.
• The first step to avoid having to throw food away is to plan both the menus and the purchase. If we take into account both the number of diners and the amounts to be consumed by each person, we will avoid buying excess food.
• The organization is essential. Try to consume the most perishable foods before and pay attention when refrigerating the food in a suitable container or properly covered. If there is something that you are not going to be able to eat in several days, it is better to freeze it, but remember that frozen food also expires, so write down the freezing date.
• When buying food, choose seasonal and quality products, do not get carried away by an impeccable appearance or spectacular packaging, because you may end up taking more than you need.
• Remember that the expiration date is indicative and most products usually have a wider margin to be able to consume them safely. Do not rush to throw out expired food in the trash.
• You can also take advantage of leftovers. The bread can last several days if you make it toasted or you can also add it to any soup. You can prepare a puree with any vegetable that you have left over, and any fillet you have from the day before goes very well with salads. A resource that you can always go to is croquettes, which can be made from almost any food that you have left over.
• You only need to reflect a little, in this way it does not cost so much to get involved in a more responsible, more sustainable and fairer consumption.