Denmark celebrates inaugural Food Waste Day 

COOP, Danish Crown and Carlsberg among long list of food companies pledging to reduce food waste by 50 percent by 2030

Denmark has a new national day today – say hello to Food Waste Day!

And to mark the momentous occasion, a long list of companies from the food sector have pledged to reduce their food waste by 50 percent by 2030.

“Food waste in Denmark needs to be reduced. When we spend resources on food that ends up in the bin, it unnecessarily burdens the climate and environment,” said the food minister, Mogens Jensen.

“So it’s critical that the business sector now seriously embraces this agenda. That some of the big players from the sector sign on today is a sure step in the right direction.”

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From COOP to Carlsberg
Among the big hitters to sign on to the new ‘Denmark against Food Waste’ agreement are COOP, Danish Crown, Carlsberg, nemlig.com and Salling Group.

The move is part of the UN strategy to reduce food waste by 50 percent globally by 2030.

In Denmark alone, about 700,000 tonnes of food ends up in the rubbish bin every year.

Two-thirds comes from various links in the food sector, while the rest comes from private homes.

“If everyone in the world lived like us Danes, we would need almost four planets. And that just won’t work,” said Jensen.

As part of the day, a series of events will be held in Copenhagen.