Why Were The UN Delegates Served Food Made From Waste?

Being a world leader has its own perks. Some of which include having constant access to sumptuous and delicious food of the highest class and quality. But in a lesson on practicing what they preach, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon served lunch made from food waste.

About 30 world leaders who came to UN for global summit on sustainable development agenda were served lunch made from food waste – like “Landfill Salad”.

Making A Statement

The vegetarian menu on Sunday was designed to emphasize over the fact that more than a third of all food produced is wasted. This even as the UN launches an ambitious agenda to end hunger and protect the environment.

“Our lunch was produced from food that would otherwise end up in landfills, emitting methane, a potent greenhouse gas,” Ban told reporters. “Food production and agriculture contribute as much to climate change as transportation,” he added.

“Yet more than a third of all food produced worldwide – over one billion tonnes of edible food each year – goes to waste. That is shameful when so many people suffer from hunger.”

Sumptuous Waste

The specially crafted menu included a “Landfill Salad” that was made from unwanted vegetable scraps, stalks and outer leaves salvaged from the waste of big food producers, and liquid drained from a can of chickpeas.

The burgers and fries came from discarded vegetables, ends of cucumber thrown out by pickle makers; and cow corn, which is used for feeding animals or for making ethanol.

The “Spent Grain Bread” was baked from grain mash left over from brewing and distilling process, and unrefined oil extracted from squash seeds.

For dessert, the outer dried shell of cocoa bean, the material left over after pressing nuts for oil and pulp of the coffee cherry were turned into “Cocoa Husk Custard”.

Lunch Discussion

The conversation over lunch was, of course, about climate change and poverty. Ban said the lunchtime consensus was that the agreement to be reached at the Paris climate change conference must “strengthen resilience to climate impacts, with a focus on the poorest and most vulnerable”.

French President Francois Hollande was among the guests, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was away in California, was not there.