Page - 693 - in Menschenrechte und Gerechtigkeit als bleibende Aufgaben - Beiträge aus Religion, Theologie, Ethik, Recht und Wirtschaft

© 2020, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783847111658 – ISBN E-Lib: 9783737011655 “their art andpoetry, their interior life and spirituality”needs tobeprotected andpreserved(LS62f.)asthe“disappearanceofaculturecanbejustasserious, orevenmoreserious,thanthedisappearanceofaspeciesofplantoranimal.The impositionofadominant lifestyle linked toasingle formofproductioncanbe just as harmful as the alteringof ecosystems” (LS145). Francis condemnsany system of exclusion and waste that marginalises the poor andMother Earth through persistent structures of indifference. Prevention of food waste is of highestpriority. “Whenever foodis thrownout it isas if itwerestolenfromthe table of the poor” (LS 50). Indeed, globally, “roughly one third of the food produced in theworld forhumanconsumptioneveryyear–approximately1.3 billiontons–gets lostorwasted.”43Foodlossandwasteisaburningquestionof resourceandecologicalethics.Iffoodwasteweremeasuredasifitwereacountry onitsown,itwouldbethethirdlargestemitterofCO2equivalentsafterChinaand the USA.44 In 2011, Hong Kong produced 3,600 tons of food waste per day, coming fromsupermarkets, restaurants, hotels, andhouseholds, amounting to 40percentofthecity’ssolidwaste(MSW).Whenfoodiswasted,theland,water, fertilizer and labour – that is needed to grow that food – are also lost and wasted.45TheCampaign FoodwiseHongKong is a laudable initiative to raise awareness onvarious societal levels to bemore responsiblewith food and re- sources.However, this issue needs systemic and structural answers, and thus, besides a changeofmindset and thinking, proper political answers. The expe- rience in Hong Kong confirms this: despite 7 years Foodwise Campaign, Foodwaste isstillonthesamelevel:3600 tonnesperday.46Manycountrieshave developedfoodbankssothatsupermarketsandhotelscandonatesurplus food forpoorandneedycommunities.However, such initiatives requireproper leg- islationand institutions.47 TheFriday forFutureMovement calls fordrastic changesofourglobal sys- tem.Howcanwebe suchachange?Afewgenerationsago,wastingof foodwas unthinkable, and onFridays therewas nomeat on the plate, following an old 43 FAO,FoodWastageFootprint: ImpactsonNaturalResources,Rome2013. 44 Mervyn Jones, FoodwasteGeneration andPrevention Strategy:WorkshoponFoodWaste Management, Prevention and Treatment Technology. Power Point Presentation at the In- ternationalConferenceonSolidWaste2015:KnowledgeTransfer forSustainableResource Management, HongKong SAR, P.R. China, 19–23May 2015, HongKong, 19thMay 2015. 45 Environmental Protection Bureau/Hong Kong Government, Foodwise Hong Kong Cam- paign: InvitationtoSignFoodWiseCharter,HongKong2013,see:http://www.foodwisehk. gov.hk/en/ (accessedonFeb.20th2018). 46 See:https://www.opark.gov.hk/en/index.php(accessedonApril 25th2020). 47 FelicitasSchneider,TheEvolutionofFoodDonationwithRespecttoWastePrevention.Waste Management 33/2013, pp.755–763, see: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2012.10.025 (ac- cessedon21th2019).The“FoodRecoveryHierarchy”of theEPA(EnvironmentalProtection Agency) in theUStries to translate the issueof resources into the foodsystem. Resources forFuture inaCaringEconomy 693 Open-Access-Publikation im Sinne der CC-Lizenz BY 4.0