The gluttony at Easter was just one of many highlights of the year: every year, Austrians consume 115 kilos of vegetables, 109 kilos of fruit and around 110 kilos of meat per capita. In return, around 760,000 tons of food are thrown away in Austria. New nutritional concepts should help to create a more conscious approach to food.
To date, a lot of food ends up as waste - around 760,000 tons per year in Austria - half of which is disposed of unnecessarily and could therefore be avoided. If the waste from agriculture, food production and the wholesale trade is included, this figure increases many times over. This is the conclusion of the latest report by the Austrian Institute of Ecology, which was commissioned by the WWF and Mother Earth. It is therefore not without reason that the abolition of the best-before date on food is being discussed not only in Germany but also in Austria.
Another approach to counteracting waste is the conscious use of this valuable resource. Clean eating promises a completely new approach to food: industrially processed foods and products with more than 5 different ingredients, as well as refined sugar, white flour and fast food are largely removed from the menu or avoided altogether. Cooking for yourself with lots of fruit, fresh vegetables and the like is the motto for clean eaters. Fish and meat are also allowed - the goal is a balanced, clean mixed diet.
The concept behind clean eating, which is based on the ideas of American nutritional therapist Tosca Reno, is deliberately not a diet but a nutritional concept. Rather, clean eating is a step back to nature - back to the origin of food, so to speak, and towards authenticity and naturalness. As the old saying goes: "What the farmer doesn't know, he doesn't eat." In this context, this means: don't eat anything that wasn't available as food in grandma's day. The conscious handling of food and the daily preparation of food can minimize food waste.
The first signs of this nutritional concept can also be seen in Austria: new foods, so-called local "superfoods" such as pumpkin, spinach, cabbage and blueberries are more popular than ever before and are now available everywhere. Many of them naturally contain lots of vitamins and minerals. They are considered superfoods because they are particularly rich in nutrients and have a positive effect on health.
Another food trend that also has its roots in the USA is craft food - craft food is a nutritional concept that incorporates local and handmade foods. The food is cooked from regional products and then sold locally. In addition to sustainability and regionality, the creative use of food and the independent production of food are also important aspects of craft food. Hence the term 'craft'. In Austria and Germany, craft food is best known for beer production, i.e. craft beers.
Be it clean eating, superfoods or craft food - all these movements and trends have one thing in common - they lead to a conscious approach to the valuable resource of food. Soulless mass-produced or industrial products should be avoided and replaced with homemade products.
Even if these concepts may be reminiscent of grandma's day, there are many valuable insights to be gained from them. And if we manage to deal with our food consciously and sustainably, the discussion about abolishing the best-before date will become irrelevant.
Source for consumption figures
Food Report Austria 2010 based on figures from: AMA Marketing, Statistics Austria, Forum Natürliches Mineralwasser
Sustainable nutrition is not possible without alternative food distribution systems. If you want to eat like grandma used to, you have to get the natural, original products directly from farmers. As not everyone has a car or the time to drive to the farms, and as this is not ecological, it is better to join forces with other critical consumers to procure food. One way to do this is through solidarity agriculture and food coops - see http://www.foodcoops.at, and another is through farmers' markets or mobile shopping communities, i.e. taking turns to buy groceries at the market for several participants.
You can only eat sustainably if you have also sourced your food sustainably.