Who Turned Off The Lights?

Millions of homes as well as major landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and the Big Ben will participate in Earth Hour.

17:43 01 April 2015

 

Hundreds of cities from across the world are expected to participate in Earth Hour by switching off their lights and electronics for just one hour. This year, major landmarks including the Sydney Opera House, Times Square, Big Ben, and The House of Parliament will also participate. 

 

As WWF encourage thousands of people to save on electricity, perhaps, it’s the best time to think about the 7m tonnes of food we waste every year, which is equivalent to carbon footprint left by a quarter of world’s cars.  

 

Tristram Stuart, the writer of Uncovering the Global Food Scandal, said: “In one day, I discovered, a grocery store can easily throw out enough to feed more than 100 people. Back then, most supermarket managers were not interested in the issue of what to do with unsold food. Their activities were constrained by company policies, which determined that surplus should be sent to landfill. They were in the business of selling food – and many bosses believed that giving it away would undermine sales. It made more sense for the supermarkets to lock the food in bins and send it off to be buried, regardless of the social and environmental costs. And while the population has become more aware of food waste, this remains the default position for the industry today.”

 

Rachel Bloodworth, head of public engagement at WWF-UK, encouraged supermarkets to minimise waste. “Wasted food is a waste of resources and carbon. It is good to see some supermarkets, such as Tesco, and restaurants taking this seriously and working to reduce their own waste and that of their suppliers and customers.”