Some of the food that TUC-students found in containers outside the foodstores in Bø.

Some of all the food the students found in containers displayed by the students

Andrea Casado, Marek Styblo, Helene Pita, Ivan Soleto og Zdenek Hejna have all lived on food from containers since they came to Bø as exchange students this fall.

- It’s chocking to see how much food is thrown away in the West. Food that is perfectly good. We have found a lot of food that has been thrown away which hasn’t even met the date of durability printed on the packageing, where the only problem was minor damage to the packageing itself.

"Would be better to sell the food at reduced prices!"
On the table in front of the students there is an abundance of food: dozens of packages of crackers, fruit and vegetables that all look fresh, hotdogs, sandwich meats and pre-cooked Fjordland meals.

- We want to contribute to put an end this enormous waste. We appeal to the stores to rather sell such food at highly reduced prices. We believe both customers and the stores themselves will gain from doing so

Students were given a chance to taste
The Bø students crowded the ”food market” between classes and during recesses. Rebecca Lundberg had tasted both smoothie made from the ”waste” fruit as well as thrown-away packages of waffles and crackers.

- This is a great initiative! It will really open people’s eyes! In the Nordic countries we are far to used to throwing away food that has met it’s ”best before” and ”sell before” dates, but now we can both see and taste that this is really not necessary.

Shocked
Tone Jøran Oredalen, Head of the Department of Health and Environmental Studies, agrees

- I am both proud of and impress by what the students have done here. It becomes shockingly clear how much foods that is thrown away unnecessarily when it is shown in this way.

The students have been given much publicity for their campaign. Newspapers as well as the local radio station covered Thursday’s waste food market. Studenten har fått mye oppmerksomhet rundt aksjonen. Både aviser og NRK var tilstede og dekket dagens matmøte.

The students attend courses in Alpine Ecology and Environmental ManagementStudentene and Outdoor Life, Culture and Ecophilosophy. Three of them uses the experiment and the campaign as part of a project for their Ecophilosophy class.