"Eating out-of-home" shows up poor environmental performance
Food waste causes considerable environmental damage
![a basket with a mouldet bread roll, two rotten apples and a dried out lemon](https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/styles/800w400h/public/medien/376/bilder/lebensmittelabfall_ccat82_fotolia_40621057_m.jpg?itok=mobsRUEg&c=7da3beb268d407c604c95a29f854e955)
Source: CCat82 / Fotolia.com
Food waste from the restaurant business, central kitchens and event caterers have the greatest impact on the environment. Nearly half of the food in these sectors is discarded prematurely. Vital resources such as cropland and water are wasted unnecessarily, producing greenhouse gas emissions which could be prevented. These are the preliminary conclusions of a research project by the Federal Environment Agency.
UBA's President Maria Krautzberger said, "The dimensions of food waste are shocking, but there is hardly another sector in which waste avoidance is so easy to practice. Five per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions in Germany originate from food losses. We can do a lot to minimise these losses and do something good for the climate and environment." The Federal Environment Agency recommends a relaxation on the legal standards and the rules in force on the appearance and shape of fruit and vegetables. Food waste refers to food which, although edible, has been discarded for a number of different reasons.