Press Release
Asian Celebrities join force with UNEP to promote anti-food waste message on World Environment Day
(Hong Kong, 30 May 2013) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) set the theme of 2013 World Environment Day (WED) as “Think.Eat.Save. Reduce Your Foodprint” – to encourage the world to take action to reduce food waste and loss.
UNEP Goodwill Ambassadors Gisele Bündchen and Li Bingbing, The Vampire Diaries’ Ian Somerhalder all fully support this global campaign and have helped spreading the word through their fan page since last month.
Gisele Bündchen and Don Cheadle call on all of us to ‘Think Eat Save: Reduce your Foodprint’ to celebrate World Environment Day 2013. (Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHipPj4zpfc)
In Hong Kong, 3,200 tonnes of food, which is the weight of 120 double decker buses, are sent to landfill every day. In light of this, local celebrities united together to make their appeal and call the public for action to save our food resources. “No leftover citizen” includes, Daniel Wu, Lisa S., Donnie Yen, Cissy Wang, Khalil Fong, Ella Koon, Jun Kung, Lawrence Cheng, Pakho Chau, Terence Yin, 24 herbs, Shiga Lin and more.
Donnie Yen and his wife Cissy Wang found this activity very meaningful. “The United Nations set this theme for this year’s World Environment Day is very proper. My wife and I were very disappointed and shocked whenever we heard about the amount of food wasted in Hong Kong. I had gone through some hard times when I was young and I knew that not everyone is lucky enough to have three meals a day. Besides, our whole family loves healthy diet, we teach our kids to cherish food and we make them understand it is not easy for farmers to grow food for us.”
Daniel Wu and his wife Lisa S. wish to encourage public to think about the problem of food waste through this activity. “Food waste has been a serious problem in Hong Kong, over 40% of the city solid waste is food waste right now and we must stop this. We enjoy cooking and we cook only the portion we can consume. We will utilize leftover food to make new dishes on the next day. Our first child will be born soon and we will teach her to cherish food.”
Furthermore, the “No Leftovers Pledge in Hong Kong” received over 500 photos in 2 weeks! It is supported by local food concern groups and food banks, including the Greeners Action’s No Leftover campaign, Cheung Chau’s Food Recycle Land project, Food Grace’s Food Recycling Scheme, Feeding Hong Kong, Food Angel and St. James’Settlement People’s Food Bank.
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About Go.Asia’s Think. Eat. Save – Be a “No Leftover” Citizen! Campaign
Go.Asia (http://www.go.asia/) initiated the “Food Concern Months” in Hong Kong and is bringing Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution in May as well as the United Nation’s Environment Day Think.Eat.Save Reduce your Foodprint program in June.
Food Revolution: Founded by Jamie Oliver and had inspired millions around the world to pass on their knowledge and highlight the world’s food issues.
Details: http://frd.asia/
United Nation’s Environment Day: Think.Eat.Save. Reduce your Foodprint Campaign aims to encourage individuals to treasure food resources.
Details: http://www.thinkeatsave.org/
Think. Eat. Save – Be a “No Leftover” Citizen! Photo Album
About Go.Asia (http://go.asia/) – Spread the GOOD
EVERY ACT COUNTS
Go.Asia is a charitable initiative that aims to improve society through collective and individual efforts. Go.Asia contains helpful information on possible ways to enrich your life and the lives of those around you through acts of kindness, compassion, generosity and goodwill.
About World Environment Day
The theme for this year’s World Environment Day celebrations is Think.Eat.Save. Think.Eat.Save is an anti-food waste and food loss campaign that encourages you to reduce your foodprint. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), every year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted. This is equivalent to the same amount produced in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, 1 in every 7 people in the world go to bed hungry and more than 20,000 children under the age of 5 die daily from hunger.
Given this enormous imbalance in lifestyles and the resultant devastating effects on the environment, this year’s theme – Think.Eat.Save – encourages you to become more aware of the environmental impact of the food choices you make and empowers you to make informed decisions.
While the planet is struggling to provide us with enough resources to sustain its 7 billion people (growing to 9 billion by 2050), FAO estimates that a third of global food production is either wasted or lost. Food waste is an enormous drain on natural resources and a contributor to negative environmental impacts. http://www.unep.org/wed/
