The “FOOD DESERVES A RESPECT” campaign has launched

There are over 7 billion people on our planet, of whom 925 million are suffering from hunger. Despite this, each year we lose and waste 1.3 billion tons of food, which would be enough to feed 3 billion people. Generally speaking, about one third of the food produced worldwide is lost or wasted. By 2050, the global population will reach 9 billion. By then, food production will need to be increased by 70% to meet the demand. Reducing food loss and waste must be a major focus area. In September 2015, the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – to halve global food waste per capita at the retail and consumer levels by 2030 and reduce food losses in production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses. The EU and its member states have committed to achieving the SDGs, adopted in September 2015: to halve food waste per capita at the retail and consumer stages by 2030 and to reduce food losses in food production and supply chains.

The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness of the scale of the problem of food waste, particularly in the ‘household’ area, educate about the operations of the food industry, the mechanisms that govern it, and what alternative forms of food production are, where to look for and obtain better quality, certified food, and promote sustainable consumption patterns and active support of sustainable food supply chains. Influencing a change in daily attitudes and habits related to food, especially among young people – not wasting food as a new trend, an element of my image.

The campaign’s message is based on the formula of continuous thematic cycles (food/ecology/lifestyle/finance, psychology, diet), showing concrete examples of how not to waste food.

The culinary cycle as part of the ‘Weekends without Uber’ shows how to cook a delicious dinner with ingredients from the fridge, what to always have on hand to create something interesting from leftover food. We demonstrate that wasting food is embarrassing!

The financial cycle within ‘Financial Ends of the Month’ teaches how to plan food purchases, take advantage of promotions, control food expenses, etc.

The psychology-related cycle within ‘Shop with Sense’ shows how to avoid grocery store tricks that cleverly prompt us to compulsively buy food.

The campaign aims to inspire consumers to eat and shop consciously, without throwing away food and thus without guilt. What we buy, in what quantities, and most importantly, what we throw away, has a real impact on the environment around us and the ongoing climate changes.

This is important because we need to understand that behind every apple or carrot we throw away, a chain of other losses is triggered: environmental, economic, social. The production of each product involves the use of resources that will eventually run out. By preventing food wastage, we save water and other resources used in its production. By taking more responsible actions, we can also help reduce the emissions of CO2 and methane into the atmosphere, which are produced by rotting food in landfills. Additionally, this allows us to save our money spent on the product.

SHAKE HANDS AGENCY is responsible for the creation, implementation, and communication of the campaign.