Government of the Azores celebrates World Food Day - "The Planet needs us."

Oct. 16, 2021

The Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change promoted, on World Food Day, an activity within the scope of the campaign “Fighting Food Waste in the Azores".
In the action that took place at the Horta Municipal Market, the Regional Director for Environment and Climate Change highlighted that within the scope of this campaign, various awareness, information and dissemination actions aimed at society, including producers, consumers and children, will be promoted. It is intended to encourage the population to adopt more responsible and sustainable food attitudes, through local consumption, purchase planning and the use of meals.
About a third of the food produced annually for human consumption worldwide is lost or wasted. In the European Union, it is estimated that around 1 billion tons of food are wasted annually.
"Food waste contributes to the aggravation of climate change, with a global carbon footprint of around 22% of total greenhouse gas emissions and also contributes to the inefficient use of natural resources, such as land, energy and water” highlighted Ana Rodrigues.
 The Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change is committed to implementing concrete and effective measures to reverse this situation, through the promotion of awareness-raising and information actions, as well as workshops aimed at the catering sector.
“The planet needs each one of us, and we need to rethink the way we consume and produce” declared the Regional Director.
The session also launched the video of the campaign to combat food waste, as well as the distribution of leaflets on the subject and reusable bags, appealing to those present that it is necessary to combat food waste.
For the children, through the Regional Secretariat, a pedagogical activity of environmental awareness was promoted – the “Mercearia Milhafre”.
The promotional video of the campaign to Combat Food Waste in the Azores can be viewed at the following address https://youtu.be/uGjr8gzZzNc .