Antinuclear

Australians overspending on food, and wasting much of it

Audio: Revellers warned to limit Christmas food waste, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-03/revellers-warned-to-limit-christmas-food-waste/4405820   ABC News,  By Lindy Kerin  Dec 3, 2012   Australians are expected to spend about $10 billion on food over the Christmas period, but a staggering 35 per cent will be wasted and end up as landfill.Food rescue group Oz Harvest, which collects leftover food and distributes it to charities, says it will pick up about 150 tonnes of food throughout December.

Oz Harvest founder Ronnie Khan says the group is distributing to more than 400 charities and welfare agencies.She says waste increases significantly at this time of year. “From mid-October to the end of December, we call this our harvest period,” she said. “It’s the time to collect as much as we can, because there’s an abundance of food being shared around with those people who have……

The shocking level of waste is of great concern to environment group Planet Ark. It says every year Australians generate about 361 kilograms of food waste per person. Planet Ark recycling programs manager Janet Sparrow says 35 per cent of food is expected to be wasted this month….

Planet Ark has launched an education campaign to encourage Australians to think about how they can reduce their environmental impact over the festive season.

December 4, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | General News