Global obesity pandemic, conceptual composite image. The background is a coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of fat cells (adipocytes, yellow) surrounded by fine strands of supportive connective tissue. Adipose tissue forms an insulating layer under the skin, storing energy in the form of fat, which is obtained from food. Magnification: x400 when printed 10 centimetres wide.
The prevalence of overweight and obesity continues to increase worldwide, including in low-income and middle-income countries—increasing the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancers.
How to capitalize on the growing upcycled foods movement Make food from food waste. Food waste is a global problem as their leftovers remain in large quantities in almost all parts of the supply chain in agricultural and processing enterprises. Fruits and vegetables constitute the highest food waste. 45%-60% of fruits consist of waste — pulp, rind, cake left after pressing, kernels and seeds. Despite the food surplus, more than 820 million people worldwide are undernourished, and one in nine people on earth is hungry.
The circular economy can be defined as an ideal, zero-waste economy where the materials we use every day follow a closed-loop, circular journey that starts with manufacturing and utilization and then moves into reuse, repair, redistribute, refurbish, remanufacture and sometimes compost. With a circular economy, everything comes back and is used again in one form or another, minimizing or completely eliminating landfills and incineration. The circular economy differs from the existing linear economy, where things are produced, used and then some things can be reused or recycled, but some things end up in the landfill, oceans or other places they don’t belong. Some types of plastics are especially problematic in terms of recycling, but increasingly, manufacturers are becoming more conscious of the materials they’re producing and using to ensure that they can either be recycled, reused or composted.
BWG Foods has today (16 September) announced a major €11 million sustainability investment programme aimed at significantly decreasing the environmental footprint of…