The photographer Peter Menzel few years ago visited different countries of the world in order to photograph families of those countries with the food they consume regularly for a week. A book was published based on this work, “Hungry Planet”, where tastes, preferences and food culture of these countries are reflected, but in addition we can see the reality of our world, in which millions of people suffer from hunger and malnutrition, while in other countries obesity rates grow as epidemic and food are wasted in large amounts.
The expense that a family does in your shopping basket is very different between countries reflecting Menzel. In some, like Chad, they survive as little more than a dollar a week, while in others, we eat with excess of calories and we are wasting big amounts of food. With our habits, we contribute to wasting much of the food we buy and consume in our homes.
I used the pictures of Menzel in this occasion to close this post the serie about food waste in particular, to speaking about food waste in households.
The 42% of food are thrown out in household according to UE, and Spain is the seventh country that more food waste to 7,7 million tons. In 2013 a study was published by Hispacoop and supported by the National Institute of Consumption in which it was noted that in Spain the average waste per household is 1,3 kg/week. The group of breads, cereals, pastries and others foods (19,3%), fruits and vegetables (16,9%), milk yogurts, cheeses and other dairy products (13,3%) and pasta are the most waste food, among all these groups account for 62.6% of wasted food in households.
Leftovers, main reason Leftovers meals are the main reason why food is thrown away in the household (86.5%), not to calculate the portions not plan well or menu beforehand.
We have to recover recipes and seek to take advantage of these leftovers, our recipe book is full of dishes that are born like recipes of leftovers: “croquetas”, “ropa vieja”, the delicious “torrijas”, etc. All of them have appeared of wit of chefs, cooks and especially housewives who have sought the way to harness remains of bread, meat, vegetables and give them a second chance like delicious dishes.
The deterioration of food by poor storage or excess in storage has been reflected as the next reason to reject food in Spanish households. We tend to save the leftovers of the meal, with the intention to use it for a later meal, but then we do not plan well, or we let spoil this leftovers, to finally end up in the rubbish bin.
Planning, kitchen and reused To reduce this waste in our homes we should start by good planning. We have to think the weekly menu, and the food we need for this menu, and what we are going to do with leftovers. Knowing the weekly menu will help us to know previously what quantities and ingredients we need to do it.
In this way we will not buy too much and thus we will avoid some of these foods end up damaged, or buy food we already have in the pantry. When we make the purchase it must look at the expiration date or preferred consumption of food, ensuring that falls within our planning.
At the time of cooking we should adjust the amounts of ingredients to the number of people, using kitchen utensils to help us calculate the portions always in the same way. It can be calculated for cooking more quantity if you have a clear intention, and freeze the leftovers for a later meal planned, but this must be taken into account.
Agriculture is a so old human activity that popular wisdom is full of proverbs and sayings giving recommendations about the best way to precede in farm duties. Popular wisdom along with the knowledge transmitted from parents to children has determined agriculture practice for centuries. Only in 20th Century the advent of machines and chemical fertilisers and pest-controllers started to change the conditions.
Sensor Yara ALS (Active Light Source) to estimate the nitrogen needs.
Nowadays agriculture has to face a changing scenario. New cultures, new policies, less water available, less public tolerance towards chemicals, less people attracted by rural life, emergent countries and the market dominated by a few, big actors. This changing situation leads agriculture to adopting industrial-like principles: process optimisation, cost reduction, performance improvement.
Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) and Internet of Things (IoT) can help to improve agriculture activities according to the new paradigm. These technologies are related to the ability to generate, to process and to use data from the agriculture process.
Data source can be sensors in the process and activity logs. When data are accessed through Internet and processed in the cloud to provide autonomy to the process we have an IoT process because it is not the farmer who is using Internet but the things themselves, where a thing is the field, an irrigation device or a combine harvester. Let’s see some examples that can be applied to improve agriculture.
An irrigation systemcan be automatized using moisture sensors buried in the soil. When the moisture reaches a critical value determined by the farmer, the system starts to work and will go on while the moisture is below the threshold. When the field is wide enough sensors can be placed along it, and the irrigation system can apply different water flows depending on the local conditions. The system can be improved by incorporating weather prediction, which can be used to delay the irrigation when rains are foreseen. Alternatively, the system can warm the farmer who will make a decision based on the information provided by the system.
Other example is a combine harvester equipped with a sensor able to measure the production per square meter. At the end of the task, there is a map of the field reflecting the production meter by meter. This map can be used during the next season to adjust the fertilisation according to the local needs. Moreover, the most suitable time to fertilise is automatically computed considering weather and soil conditions and the forecasted values.
All these techniques based on sensors, data processing and Internet access to the data, machines and fields allow to improve the farm yield and to reduce the use of resources. At the same time, they allow to cover the blanks caused to popular wisdom by this changing world.
More than 40% of the residential buildings in Europe are older than 50 years and subsequently they have a large potential for energy savings. The European Commission is aware of the need of a renovation work as well as the benefits that this activity can bring to the economy; hence, it designs strategies that help to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions to the atmosphere while being able to create new jobs. It is not easy to report an exact number of the benefit associated to this type of initiative given the estimations differ among reports. As reference, here it is provided the annual jobs quantified in the Strategy for Energy Retrofitting Building Sector in Spain that estimated the creation of around 97,000 and 141,000 new jobs between 2014 and 2020.
However, despite the great advantages of this sector, the beginning of a energy efficient solutions project is not simple because of non-technological barriers (Table: BPIE 2011: Europe’s building under the microscope). This explains why annual energy efficient solutions rate is around 1% in most European countries. The high investment cost and the access to finance due to a lack of long term credit from banks are undoubtedly one of the most important barriers which are related to a lack of knowledge and risk perception towards this type of action. Also, many of people who live in this type of households have limited resources and cannot afford such expensive renovations.
On the other hand, accompanying these economic barriers, there is often a lack of interest towards this investment option since the reduction of energy bills and the impact on the property value as a result of the energy efficiency measures are not very relevant aspects to involve the building owners. Nor a better thermal comfort helps to the making decision process when the payback is not imminent. Concerning the legal framework, it should be mentioned that despite the development of regulations that favor energy efficiency in buildings, there are many obstacles in this field to overcome since nowadays the regulatory framework is dispersed and is managed by several administration.
In the case of Spain, the situation is nowadays complicated after the crisis experienced in the construction sector with a special reluctance of banks to lend loans to construction companies. On the other hand, financial institutions force to housing owners to endorse their dwelling in order to solve the possible non-payment that may arise within the community of neighbors. Therefore the rehabilitation of a building or district depends in many cases on the economic capacity for companies to invest as well as the public funding. Also, it has to be mentioned that the regulation is against renewable energy and the self-consumption which is also restrained the advance of energy renovation of districts.
Given this scenario, the only way for the renovation of the buildings is to achieve a short-term payback, being currently this one of the biggest challenges since it is needed to identify the most suitable business model and financial scheme for each type of property, housing and society. Furthermore, it is required to boost the benefits of these initiatives through information campaigns.
‘Did you know that cocoa increases mental activity? We are going to discover and prove scientifically the incredible power of what we have in the pantry’.
With these words, the Spanish cooker Alberto Chicote started ‘Superfoods’, his special TV program, on March28. When it started, I said to myself: I won’t miss it! I have to admit that I had some uncomfortable moments, and I thought: Oh my god! They are getting on top!
According to the ratings, the program was a success. And, on the one hand, I am glad because it shows the Spanish interest in eating in a healthy way (beyond football or ‘big brother’). Secondly, I am glad because it evidences the huge potential of television to increase the nutrition knowledge.
We must learn how to communicate science in an educational and funny way (as Chicote), but always under the strict sight of scientific evidences. After living a few crazy years proclaiming the miraculous effects of food, the publication of Regulation (EC) 1924/2006, related to nutrition declarations and health properties of food, the scene has changed radically, prohibiting attribute to any food a beneficial effect without scientific basis and without being expressly authorized.
In this case, I dedicate today’s post to check briefly the science behind the effects that the program attributed to the 10 ‘Superfoods’. Chicote ensured that:
‘The extra virgin olive oil strengthens bones and eliminates fats’. ‘Cocoa strengthens teeth and streamlines the mind’. ‘Blue fish is good against stresses’. ‘Coffee prevents fatigue driving’. ‘Oranges slow aging’. ‘Pasta increases athletic performance’. ‘The tomato prevents sunburn’. ‘Broccoli protects your eyesight of the sun’. ‘Legumes reduce cholesterol’.
On the one hand, the following table lists the so-called ‘superfoods’ and their benefits reported on television. And on the other hand, it includes the active ingredients that provide these foods, the beneficial effects scientifically accepted by the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) and it today is authorized to inform European consumers about the benefits.
Indeed, there is scientific evidence that selected foods have certain beneficial effects. However, the word ‘Superfood’ is not the right word, because it could give the idea that they are ‘miraculous’, and then we start doing strange things such as ‘broccoli diet’ or eating 2kg of oranges every day in order to get eternal youth.
Looking at the table, we can conclude that:
It is very curious that this program shows some effects of these foods which do not count with the scientific evidences, instead of the recognized healthy effects.
In the case of pulses, because of their phystosterols contents, we could admit that ‘they help to maintain normal cholesterol levels’, but not ‘reduce cholesterol’.
Scientifically, effects on our concentration related to the caffeine consume are demonstrated. However, Europe is not authorized to publicize these effects to avoid excessive consumption of coffee or caffeinated beverages. For more information of caffeine, you can check the following EFSA’s poster.
If you are hesitating about which technology would best fit your needs and liking, you should carefully analyze pros and cons and compare what you can get from both. A good starting point may be the type of driving you intend to do. If you plan to spend a lot of time in stop-start traffic, then the electric one might be the right choice.
For electric cars usually the high purchase price is a barrier that will only be overcome if you intend to drive enough kilometers along their useful life. You can counteract your initial investment with the lower price of electricity when compared to diesel or gasoline.
Another barrier is the driving range, which may be around 150 – 200 km under real conditions. Though this should be enough to cover actual everyday driving needs, facts show that this is an important deterrent for most potential buyers. Right now, plug-in cars account for not more than one-tenth of 1% of the global car market, and they are rare in the streets of our cities in most countries (Norway or Netherlands would be an exception). The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries predicts just 1% of electric vehicles in 2040, while other experts don’t foresee a real impact for the next 50 years.
However, some hints suggest that predictions might be different for the short term. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), several carmakers (including Tesla, Chevrolet and Nissan) plan to sell long-range electric cars at around €25.000, while they are investing billions on new models. Moreover, battery prices fell 35% last yearand their related technology is quickly evolving towards higher energy density. According to BNEF the price of long-range electric vehicles is expected to fall below €20.000 by 2040 and 35% of new cars worldwide will be plug-in.
Real facts are that those vehicles achieving the highest number of sales in 2015 were Volkswagen Golf (275.848 sales), followed by Ford Fiesta (173.999 sales). These numbers have been surpassed by the 276.00 pre-orders received by Tesla for their new Tesla 3 model, though they won’t necessarily become actual sales in 2017. The basic Tesla 3 model will have a starting purchase price of €31.000, and a range of at least 346 km per charge. This makes a big difference to all we have seen till now. Tesla has been known worldwide for their luxurious models, only affordable for a few well-off and now they offer their technology to everyone.
So both price and driving range might not be barriers anymore.
Another argument in favour of electric cars is the driving experience, extremely quiet and smooth, with no need of a gearbox, and therefore easier than an internal combustion one.
Costs related to maintenance should be less in electric car than those from conventional ones, due to the absence of gearbox, oils and cooling fluids. Moreover, electric drives have less moving parts.
An important argument against might be battery longevity, which is not 100% reliable and might fail before expected. As this is somehow uncontrollable many manufacturers are offering long warranties to reassure potential customers. Some of them offer battery-leasing schemes as an alternative to acquiring the battery together with the car.
Finally, other obstacles for most potential buyers are the difficulties and additional costs associated with installing a charging point at home for an electric car, where one feels the vehicle will be safely charged at the preferred time (usually overnight).
You can get a pretty good estimation of the total costs associated to your new car, be it conventional or electric, with CEVNE, a tool developed by CARTIF that helps you decidefrom the budgetary point of view.
And if all the previous arguments are not enough to help you make a decision, you should then consider the benefits of electric vehicles for the environment. Tail-pipe emissions are zero, thus helping to improve air quality in our cities and towns, though we know the electricity used for charging must come from somewhere… maybe a coal fired power station. If this were the case we would not be contributing that much to a cleaner environment, though we know the share of renewable sources worldwide is steadily increasing.
Construction and Demolition Waste (C&D Waste or CDW) includes all the waste from the construction of new buildings, demolition of old ones and small refurbishment works. The generation and management of CDW is a serious environmental problem. Neglect or mismanagement produce negative impacts and can cause water, ground and air pollution, contributing to climate change and affecting ecosystems and human health.
Current regulations on CDW management determines the need for an ex-ante estimation of the debris type and volume a project will generate. The level of detail and accuracy should be adequate to allow an effective planning to carry out the management of this waste.
Concern about the amount of CDW generated and its environmental impact is growing. For this reason, governments and public authorities are reviewing their policies on how these wastes should be managed. In order to improve this management, it is necessary to know the composition and magnitude that should be dealt with, as well as some estimating method of waste generated in a project, in a region or a country.
Despite all the problems that CDW may cause, and difficulties on their treatment, when waste is properly managed become resources, or products that contribute to saving raw materials, conservation of natural resources, avoid climate change and thus to sustainable development, in accordance with the principles of the circular economy.
How to estimate the waste generated by construction and demolition activities varies significantly from place to place, as explained below.
America In the United States, USEPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) estimates the amount of CDW generated in a specific region only from the built-up area, but regardless of whether the building is residential or not, or whether the works are new construction, refurbishment or demolition, which influences the type and amount of produced waste.
Another interesting case is Brazil, because it is an emerging country but CDW legislation is very similar to the European one, particularly the Portuguese. In this country, the civil construction sector is an important waste generator and national laws require manufacturers to take responsibility for the waste generated in their work and planning their management. A very important part of this effort is waste estimate to be generated, differentiating by waste type (brick, wood, glass, etc.) as each need a suitable deposit space and will be treated differently.
Asia The situation in Asia varies greatly from one country to another. Except for Korea and Japan, lack of knowledge and awareness of efficient building practices results in natural resources overuse and generation of large amounts of CDW that is rarely recycled. Approximately 40% of the total generated waste comes from construction and demolition activities. This waste is difficult to manage because it is heavy and bulky and can not be incinerated or used for composting.
Europe The European Union, in the EWC (European Waste Catalogue) provides a classification of the CDW by category. According to statistics, there are huge differences in recycling and recovery rates between EU countries, between less than 10% and over 90%. In Spain, recycling rate is around 65% of generated CDW. Construction companies benefit from the reduced amount of generated waste by reducing landfilling associated costs and reducing raw materials purchasing budget.
CDW Management in Spain Most of not recycled waste, at best, goes to landfills, taking up large discharge spaces and causing faster filling. In Spain, CDW estimation is usually done based on the floor area. To estimate each type of waste amount, a widespread criterion is 20 cm tall mixed waste per m2 built, according to use, with a standard density from 0.50 t/m3 to 1.50 t/m3. In order to obtain the weight by waste type, data based on studies about the composition of the CDW going to landfill could be used.
Summarizing, research in this field has focused in two ways: “hard” methods, measuring waste produced directly on site or through the weight of the trucks leaving the work, and “soft” methods, through questionnaires, interviews and surveys of experts and workers. When dealing with waste generation rates forecast, two approaches have been found. First is sorting waste into different categories, e.g. those established by the EWC. The second is managing waste as a whole and estimating the total volume.
A realistic approach to the problem undertakes to manage the project as a large number of interrelated and different task types (project units), in which each of these works affects differently in waste generation. Similarly, if forecasting models are developed based only on available historical data, without the necessary preliminary analysis and processing, a significant error could be introduced, as this information can come from heterogeneous and unevaluated sources.
