Her Majesty Queen Máxima will open the Waste-Free Week of the foundation Together Against Food Waste at Cultuur Haven Veghel on Monday afternoon, September 8. The week aims to raise consumer awareness of how much food is unnecessarily wasted and how this can be prevented at home. One third of the waste occurs at consumers homes.
Queen Máxima will attend part of the plenary program. After the opening ceremony, a number of participants from the Coalition for Shelf Life will discuss new shelf life icons on food and drink packaging. By sharing more explicitly how consumers can deal with expiration dates, food waste can be reduced. Subsequently, Queen Máxima will join a classroom where students will learn about shelf life and how to handle it through a see-smell-taste lesson. Afterward, student chefs will demonstrate how to make waste-free snacks and talk about how they learn to prevent food waste in the professional kitchen. Additionally, companies will showcase innovations and initiatives they have developed to combat food waste by businesses and consumers.
In the Netherlands, about twenty percent of the food produced is not eaten. Waste occurs throughout the entire chain: from the farmer to the plate and from production to restaurants. Preventing food waste promotes a sustainable food system and a better climate. Less food waste also contributes to less land use and the preservation of biodiversity.
Companies, knowledge institutions, governments, and social organizations are working through the foundation Together Against Food Waste to halve food waste by 2030 compared to 2015. The Waste-Free Week is one of the initiatives of this foundation and is organized with the Food Center. During the week, supermarkets, restaurants, schools, and municipalities activate their customers, guests, students, and residents to not throw away food for a week.
RVD, nr. 216