Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/199842
8 News maltatoday, SUNDAY, 27 OCTOBER 2013 Reality show seeks 'food champions' to teach us how to cut down waste As one-fifth of all the food we eat goes to waste, new campaign proposed in waste management plan seeks to raise awareness over our consumption of food JAMES DEBONO DON'T fancy much that chicken breast left in your plate? You could turn it into soup for tomorrow's lunch. Plans for a nationwide educational campaign spearheaded by 'food champions' and bolstered by a TV reality show offering prize money to contestants who cut down on their food waste, are among the ideas proposed to address the rampant waste of food in Maltese households, which amounts to 22% of all purchased food items. The campaign against food waste is proposed in the Waste Management Plan unveiled on Tuesday by Environment Minister Leo Brincat. Food waste is estimated to constitute 56% of domestic waste and on average, Maltese consumers dispose 2.6kg of the 12kg of food con- sumed each week. This waste of food is blamed on incorrect purchasing patterns and a lack of understanding of 'best by' and 'use by' labelling, as well as by incorrect storage. Food waste is also generated by overly estimating individual food portions. Lack of knowledge on food preparation and cooking and the automatic discarding of leftovers also contribute to food waste. According to the new plan, reducing food waste requires a greater change in behavioural patterns, sometimes dictated by time constraints such as the tendency to buy in bulk to avoid multiple shopping trips. One serious obstacle is consumerism itself, as households end up buying more than they can reasonably consume. According to the plan, this waste of food not only undermines sus- Stop! Tonight's dinner can be tomorrow's lunch. The Maltese waste 22% of all their purchased food tainable production and consumption patterns but also "requires increased infrastructural capacity to collect and treat this waste". The educational measures outlined in the plan include road shows at local councils. Supermarkets will also be sounded out on whether they will accept authorised personnel on their premises who will advise costumers on their consumption patterns, and to promote a wiser purchase of food. 'Food champions' will also be assigned to demonstrate the benefits of changing behaviour. But the most innovative, albeit potentially bizarre idea, is that of offering prize money during a reality TV programme aimed at raising awareness on these issues. "This could be coupled by offering prize money for television real- ity programmes aimed at food waste minimisation in a similar way as is done with themed programmes on weight loss," the plan states. The reality show will reward participants and feature cooking spots with a view of emphasising cooking with leftovers. The target of the campaign will be to increase the number of committed food reducers by 10% per annum. A five-year NSO survey to determine the amount of food waste and biennial surveys to establish the number of committed food waste savers, will ultimately monitor the achievements of this campaign. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Ex-Maltese diplomat to Libya says protection for foreign consuls was not always offered TIM ATTARD MONTALTO INTERVISTI MA' PERSONALITAJIET MID-DINJA TAT-TEATRU JOHN SCHRANZ U PINO SCICLUNA INTERVISTATI MINN IMMANUEL MIFSUD 4 TA' NOVEMBRU - 7PM TEATRU MANOEL DHUL B'XEJN - NUMRU LIMITAT www.maltaculture.com www.teatrumanoel.com ONLY a few days after Malta's con- sul to Benghazi, Joe Pirotta, was recalled to Malta due to security considerations, Salvino Giusti, former Maltese consul to Libya, contacted MaltaToday to explain just how different his own situation was 30 years ago. The year was 1983 and relations between Malta and Libya were already strained. Libya, under the rule of the late Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, was annoyed by Malta's oil-drilling activities in the Median Bank. In February of that year, a Libyan Arab Airlines aircraft was hijacked in mid-air with some 132 passengers on board. The plane's fuel levels were low and, due to its proximity, Malta was chosen as the best place to re-fuel. Upon asking permission to land at Luqa Airport, the hijackers were told that fuel would only be supplied in exchange for the passengers who were on board, which is in fact what eventually happened. Salvino Giusti, Malta's only diplomatic officer in Tripoli at the time, recounts in detail his terrifying experience during the ordeal. In contrast to Pirotta, however, Giusti's instructions were to "stay put and not abandon ship". "That night, I spent a very long and arduous night with two telephones pressed to my two ears, conveying messages from the Prime Minister of the time, the late Dom Mintoff, who was at the Control Tower in Luqa, and from Colonel Gaddafi at the Bab Aziziya headquarters," he says. "The Embassy complex incorporated my private residence upstairs. I had my wife with me by my side that night feeding me coffee to moist my throat and helping me puff on a cigarette." Giusti recalls how around midnight that night, the front door bell sounded and an envelope marked 'very urgent' was passed underneath the door. The letter was sent by 'The Movement of the Freedom Fighters of the National Salvation of Libya' and in it they threatened to destroy the Embassy and its quarters unless the Maltese prime minister provided fuel to the hijacked aircraft and protected it until it left Maltese airspace. "It was at this very moment that the thaw in relations began. Mintoff requested an immediate phone call from Gaddafi. The latter complied promptly. A little while later, the security provided to the Embassy began to resemble a battlefield. The Embassy and its precincts, extending to quite some distance, were manned by military and police cordons and rendered impenetrable," he said. Giusti believes that the events of that night and the eventual outcome of the hijacking helped to restore normal relations between the two countries. According to him, that incident opened the floodgates to large quantities of heavily-discounted crude oil and refined products at very special discount prices, investment, trade and employment of Maltese workers. "There were concessions made for Maltese fishermen to operate in Libya's fertile fishing zones and an exclusive banking arrangement was made so as to regulate trade and oil supplies." Giusti is relieved to see that the security of consults and diplomats abroad seems to have been given more importance than it was in the past. "Conditions of service for officers serving abroad do change, as they should, but in my case they never did!" he said.