More than a billion meals end up in the trash every day around the world; Their number is greater than the number of people suffering from hunger National newspaper

The United Nations released the results of a global study on Food waste. The results are alarming.

It is not the lack of food that makes so many people hungry in the world. Food production will be sufficient to supply all of humanity. This is what was issued by the United Nations report today, Wednesday (27) countries.

On the same planet where hunger affects more than 780 million people, a billion meals are wasted every day. This gives an average of 132kg of food thrown away per person every year.

This is not only a problem faced by rich countries, as they have greater purchasing power. Food loss occurs more intensely in hot countries, e.g BrazilThere are problems in preserving food due to the lack of proper refrigeration.

“There are many factors that influence and cause us to generate this staggering amount of waste around the world,” says Fernanda Romero, Director of the United Nations Refugee Programme. “It is the distribution of these foods, their transportation to the final consumer and the consumption habits themselves.” the environment.

According to the report, the cost of food loss and waste amounts to approximately US$1 trillion annually. This is equivalent to nearly half of Brazil's GDP. Of the world's total food waste, 60% occurs at home, 28% in restaurants, bars and cafeterias, and 12% in supermarkets, fruit and vegetable markets and outdoor markets.

Rio de Janeiro was the only city in Brazil where the United Nations measured food waste per capita. The result was 94 kilograms per person per year – lower than the global average, but still a worrying number.

Hey National newspaper I went to Morro da Babilônia, in the southern region of Rio, to showcase the work created to reduce the amount of good food that ends up in the trash. The project Favela Organic It promotes a new look at food, transforming leftovers, peels and seeds into delicious and nutritious dishes.

“This smoothie is made from mango leaves and pineapple peel. This skillet bread is made from green mango peel, and here is stalk flour that doesn't catch on fire either. When we use food, we're smart,” says Regina. Chile, founder of Favela Organica.

Regina has been teaching innovative recipes for 13 years in face-to-face and online classes. The main target audience is residents of communities that have changed their routines at home and are still transferring knowledge to other groups.

“I use the seeds that fascinated me, I use the stems and peels that used to go to waste, and today I use everything,” says Monica Ferreira, a vegetable garden teacher.

“I learned to save, value my money and, above all, not to pollute the planet,” says Yvonilda Silva, a garden teacher.