74

News

Food waste queen: Families with children still lagging behind

Christian Wenande
August 6th, 2018


This article is more than 6 years old.

New figures from environmental authority reveal little development amongst group

Families with kids need to be more diligent (photo: Pixabay)

There is little doubt the Danes have become much better at avoiding food waste in recent years, thanks in part to the tireless efforts of Selina Juul, the founder of anti-food waste association Foreningen Stop Spild Af Mad.

But while food waste has been reduced in Denmark by 8 percent since 2011, there is one group of people who are still having trouble changing their ways, according to new figures from the Miljøstyrelsen environmental authority. And it’s families with children.

“It’s because they are busy and often forget what, for instance, they have in their refrigerators and buy more than they need,” Juul told DR Nyheder.

“They are also a group who are often apprehensive about there being enough food, so they often make a bit extra for dinner.”

According to the Landbrug & Fødevarer agriculture and food association, a family could save up to 7,500 kroner a year by reducing food waste.


Share

Most popular

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to receive The Daily Post

















Latest Podcast

A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”