12 organizations fighting food waste around the globe

We all heard our mothers say it when we were young, <a href="http://foodtank.com/news/2015/06/this-world-environment-day-consume-with-care-and-reduce-waste-wed2015">"Don't waste your food,"</a> or perhaps, "Take all you want but eat all you take." Whether you were threatened with having your dinner sent to poor children in China or you were told to clean your plate, <a href="http://inhabitat.com/unilever-uses-food-waste-to-save-over-1-million-metric-tons-of-c02/">wasting food</a> has always been thought of as a cardinal sin. Unfortunately, not everyone listened to Mom. According to Sustainable America's "I Value Food" campaign, Americans spend about $371 per person per year on food that gets thrown away. In honor of World Environment Day (June 5), consider taking the lead from some of these 12 organizations by reducing the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/infographic-how-food-waste-has-become-a-huge-global-problem/">amount of food you waste</a>.

Andre Segrè, president of the <a href="http://www.andreasegre.it/">Last Minute Market</a> (LMM), looks for the places in the food chain where <a href="http://inhabitat.com/the-harvester-is-a-high-tech-composter-that-converts-retail-food-waste-onsite/">waste occurs</a>. LMM then recovers and reuses unsold goods from retailers.

In Berlin, <a href="http://www.culinarymisfits.de/">Culinary Misfits</a> uses that "ugly" produce in catering jobs -- where no one will ever see that the radish rose once had a blemish on the side.

<a href="http://www.dccentralkitchen.org/">DC Central Kitchen</a> works to recover hundreds of thousands of pounds of food and use it to feed those who have need.

<a href="http://feedbackglobal.org/">Feedback</a> has multiple campaigns to put an end to food waste. Feeding the 5000 is their main event, a fabulous feast showing how much food is thrown away. The Pig Idea encourages feeding pigs with waste food. Try it! Pigs love it! And the Gleaning Network encourages farmers to allow people to come in and find the produce left behind after the harvest is done.

<a href="http://www.foodrecoverynetwork.org/">Food Recovery Network</a> started out because a few college students at the University of Maryland were dismayed by the amount of food being thrown out in their school dining halls. Now, FRN creates food recovery programs on college campuses across the country to salvage food that would otherwise be thrown away.

The <a href="http://www.foodwastealliance.org/">Food Waste Reduction Alliance</a> aims to keep food out of landfills and increase distribution of food to those in need.

<a href="http://www.eu-fusions.org/index.php">FUSIONS</a> tries to reduce Europe’s natural resource consumption by decreasing food waste.

<a href="http://www.wastedfood.com/">Jonathan Bloom</a> has been researching and writing about food waste since 2005 and his blog, Wasted Food, draws attention to how consumers can cut their waste. image: Mutatoes, 2006-Present, (c) <a href="http://www.uliwestphal.com/mutatoes">Uli Westphal</a>

<a href="http://england.lovefoodhatewaste.com/content/about-us-2">Love Food Hate Waste</a> is educating consumers in the United Kingdom about food waste.

<a href="http://endhunger.org/">Society of Saint Andrew</a> salvages food from America’s farms and delivers it to food pantries.

Danish food waste expert Selina Juul founded the <a href="http://www.stopspildafmad.dk/inenglish.html">Stop Wasting Food</a> movement in Denmark which has gathered thousands of followers as well as support from over 90 politicians, including members of parliament in Denmark and across Europe.

Food waste is the focus of World Environment Day on June 5.

Food waste is the focus of World Environment Day on June 5.

Food waste is the focus of World Environment Day on June 5.