Spaniards waste 7.7 million tons of food a year

MADRID, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Around 7.7 million tons of food are wasted a year in Spain, it was confirmed on Monday by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment.

The announcement was made at the launch of the second phase of a campaign "More food, less waste", by the Ministry and presented by Agriculture Minister, Isabel Garcia Tejerina.

The campaign highlights that one third of all food produced on the planet is wasted. If it were used correctly, it would be enough to cover the predicted population growth for the next 35 years while at the same time feeding the 800 million people in the world who now suffer from hunger.

The positive news is that the amount of food actually wasted in Spain has fallen by 4 percent since the start of 2015, when the government began the first phase of its "More food, less waste" campaign.

The second phase of the campaign is aimed at raising awareness among distributors, restaurants and families, who together make up 60 percent of the waste, while at the same time highlighting on the environmental impact of wasting food and promoting a national guide to food donations.

"Food waste is a serious problem for humanity," Tejerina said, adding that Spain is the seventh highest waster of food in the European Union. Enditem