Will you help me fight food waste and save lives?

"Who will buy it?" - with great compassion I am asking myself this question every time when I see another damaged or ugly fruit or vegetable and a wave of pain overwhelms me."I will " - I am answering myself and a fruit or vegetable is heading to my basket. I take them and silently suffering walk away because I know that there are still many left and they are destined to death in a garbage can. I can see people spending so much time thoroughly selecting the best looking fruits and vegetables, while I do exactly the opposite - selecting only bruised and oddly shaped ones. I stopped buying beautiful fruits and veggies a long time ago, I buy them only if I have no choice and only good ones are available.

I have a friend of mine who disagrees with me and keeps on telling me the same again and again: ''Why do you do this? You pay the same amount of money for a lower quality food and leave the best to others. I am not going to do this''. But I don`t care because my heart aches. Everyone acts according to one`s heart call. This is my choice and it is right. Not because it is mine but because it is genuinely right. There are things in life which are difficult for me to talk and write about - such tremendous pain they bring to my heart. Food waste topic is one of them. We all know about this issue but not all of us think about how to solve it. However each single person can take small and easy steps to prevent and reduce food waste.

Millions of people and animals die of hunger every year. According to statistics, one person dies of hunger each second. And at the same time tons of food are wasted globally. Isn`t it an absurd?? Supermarkets poison unsold food with bleach or destroy it in pressing machines, so no one could have it later when millions are starving!! How could these amoral acts become a common practice worldwide?? Food is a source of life, no one can survive without it, it's our "life support system" and yet people consciously waste and destroy it.

If everyone of us saved a handful of food daily, all those starving could be fed, all those dying could survive. The amount of pain I experience when I see how people throw out food is indescribable, it leads me to take an action and I do as much as I can to reduce food waste. I started with myself many years ago. I have zero food waste in my household now, yet my pain remains as strong as before because I cannot control other people`s actions. I can`t force others to do the same things, to feel the same way as I do. And it makes me feel sad and helpless.

Last year Independent reported: ''About 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted worldwide every year and, of this, fruit and vegetables have the highest wastage rates of any food type''. And ''Ugly vegetables are a major cause of food waste''.

These facts are horrifying and we must do something to change it. Each one of us is capable of making small changes such as picking an ugly or bruised fruit or vegetable. We should not wait for organizations or politicians to make the first step, each individual is responsible for the changes. Many think: ''What can I do? Everyone just has to start with oneself and take a little step in the right direction as big things come from small beginnings. If every family or at least one member of each family did their bit daily, imagine what a great impact it would have! Each person regardless of their role as a household member, restaurant or supermarket worker, pupil or anyone dealing with food, should feel responsible for reducing food waste and act according to moral principles. It is hugely important to educate children about the issue, since what is sown in childhood will ripe in adulthood. It is parents` and teachers` duty to explain children how to save food and the ealier they start, the better.

My son was raised in the spirit of compassion. When he was little we used to tell him that we should avoid food waste and eat everything what we have on our plates. We went shopping together and we always taught him to buy only what we need and how to save food which is about to expire. At first it was a bit difficult for him to follow these rules, but being a child he tried his best and I also didn't stop repeating that we should think about others who don't have enough food and that food waste is a sin. Our efforts led to good results. Now my son is 13 and he is just like me, he cares about each small piece of food. I am proud of him and of his attitude to the nature and the world. It hurts me when he tells me how other children in his class or school waste food in their canteen. Adults have to explain children what is right and what is wrong and adults are responsible for children's bad actions because it means they failed explaining something important to a child in due time. And I  believe , if a child is taught something good by parents, it will remain with him for the rest of his life. Teaching itself is not enough, practicing good things together - is the core of teaching. Therefore children's behaviour is a  reflection of their parents' behaviour. If children waste food in school, that means they  observe that in their homes.

Very often teachers fill children's minds with lots of unnecessary information which is useless in life, that is a real waste of precious time. Instead of that children should be taught simple ways how to help prevent and reduce food waste  and most important - practical involvement of children in food waste fight related activities that aim at raising deeper awareness and developing saving habits which will remain with them their entire lives.

When I was a schoolgirl, I used to take food, which was supposed to be wasted, from my school canteen and give it to homeless cats, I secretly rejoiced that I could save it and help someone to survive. I would feed them anyway as I always buy food for them, but the fact that food was saved by taking it from plates of children who have left it and which would be thrown out later, made me happy.

What makes my soul ache? I noticed how thoroughly people select not only the best looking fruit and vegetables but also the biggest ones. Why no one wants to buy small ones? Do you think they are bad and less tasty? They aren`t! They are just small. No matter how short or tall, beautiful or ugly a person is, the only thing that matters - a set of inner qualities. It`s the same with fruit and veggies, don`t choose them by  their appearance which can be deceptive, think of their contents first. Mother nature has created this amazing variety of fruit and vegetables for a benefit of every living being on Earth, so why do we betray its care about our needs?

Bananas are another and separate issue. They are one of those fragile fruits that go bad very fast. Tons of lonely bananas are thrown out worldwide because no one wants them. I have tears in my eyes writing these lines, because this pain is unbearable for me. I do want them! I am the one who tries to save them, as many as I can. But I can't save them all.....Please join me in my rescue mission: don't pull bananas apart, buy a whole bunch instead or at least don't leave one lonely banana, its chances to be sold are almost equal to zero. And when you see any lonely bananas - please buy them! They are not bad, they are just lonely. Yes, sometimes we don't need so many bananas, but if people bought lonely bananas first, then it wouldn't be a problem to divide a bunch into halves. Everyone can buy one lonely banana at least once a week, it seems like a very little help but it's better than nothing.

People tend not to take overripe, damaged or lonely bananas but they are perfect for cooking - smoothies, cocktails, ice-creams and pies. There are no reasons to put them aside and leave them to end their lives in a trash can. Moreover they are really tasty and contain lots of nutrients.I love them so much!

Last year a chain of Finish supermarkets Prisma started a campaign on saving lonely bananas in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It received a very positive response and was expanded to include more cities. I saw comments in local social networks that some people literally ran to supermarkets to save lonely bananas.What a joy!

And here are some more good news to sweeten this sad article. Probably some of you already know it, but I decided to include it anyway.

Last year Lidl launched 5 kg boxes of mixed fruits and vegetables with imperfections in the UK for just 1.50 pounds. After that any leftover boxes are given to local charity through Lidl’s surplus food redistribution programme ``Feed it Back``.

A French politician, Arash Derambarsh launched a petition back in 2016 demanding the law to force local supermarkets to stop dumping unsold food and redistribute it to charities. His petition was approved and France has become the first country in the world restricting food waste in supermarkets. This amazing man`s goal is to convince all countries of the world to pass this law. I admire him and his care for others. He is a man among men!

I  have recently discovered Misfitsmarket, an American startup that actively fights the problem. They offer subscription boxes of oddly shaped but fresh and tasty fruits and vegetables at reduced prices. And though I don`t live in the area that they serve, and don`t even live in the United States, so therefore I cannot subscribe, but I want to publicly express my admiration for these wonderful people and a great job they are doing.

And though sales of fruit and vegetables with imperfections have risen in recent years due to a deeper awareness, the problem is still far from final solution because each one of us has to take action and join this battle.

There are several types of foods that can be consumed even outdated and everyone can help saving them. Those include, for example: biscuits, different kinds of breads, chocolate, pasta and others. They are quite safe to eat when expired. I usually make my choice in favour of those breads that are about to expire or already expired and if I get luck to find them among fresh ones, I feel happy.

Hundreds of articles have already been written about food waste issue and mine is just another small bit to contribute to the collection. I wrote this article not to show you food waste facts and figures, which were already reported by many sources and countless number of times, but to show you my deepest concern about it, I wrote it from my heart trying to give readers a glimpse into my mind, my feelings and  my experiences. And if it helps to awaken similar emotions in its readers` hearts and save a few more fruits, vegetables or other foods, then my goal will be achieved.

If you have read this far, I want to address everybody: please wake up and realize how much serious the problem is! Let us be worthy of being called human beings and care for the hungry and needy. Don't ever think that your efforts are futile and your help is too small if you buy one bruised fruit or expired loaf of bread. No matter how small your help is, it is valuable! Every small effort counts. Yes, it's a drop in the ocean, but each drop makes an ocean and precious enough.

I address everyone without exception: men and women, old and young, adolescents and children - let us unite in this battle against food waste for a good cause. When you go shopping next time, please pick up one ugly fruit/vegetable or another expired or going to expire product. Please think twice if you are going to discard some food, think of those who is starving and be a potential saviour of someone's life.