LocationsUP NEXT FOR KOSOVO’S GASTRONOMY: FOOD WASTE REDUCTION
July 4, 2023
Can you picture 23 million fully loaded 40-tonne trucks - enough to circle the Earth seven times? That’s how much food meant for human consumption is getting wasted. As the global demand for food is expected to increase significantly, this will continue to create an enormous strain on the environment. Estimates in the UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021 suggest that 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions are associated with unconsumed food. There is no doubt why UN’s 2021 climate report highlights food waste reduction as one of the key climate measures.
Food waste happens at the retail, food service and consumption levels. But the scope of the problem is not as hopeless as it sounds. Rather, we need to tap deeper into it; especially in a post-pandemic Kosovo where the food-service industry is arguably the hardest hit in terms of revenue reduction. Based on 2020 reports by the Gastronomy Association in Kosovo, COVID19 restrictions led to 89% of gastronomy businesses suffering huge losses, 13% of which is on the edge of bankruptcy. Such results signalize an urgent need for harmonizing the economic sustainability of gastronomy businesses with climate change mitigation efforts that help in significantly reducing further financial losses.
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