#FazAXepa campaign seeks to reduce food waste in Brazil

The #FazAXepa campaign reaches the social networks of restaurants, companies and fairs and markets with the aim of reducing food waste and transforming the way people perceive foods that are outside of aesthetic standards, due to logistical challenges or operational failures.

The Brasil Sem Desperdício program initiative, a cooperation between the social organizations WWF-Brazil and the Waste & Resources Action Program (Wrap), draws attention to the disparity between the waste of 30% of what is produced by Brazil and the existence of 55 million Brazilian women who experience some level of food insecurity, according to IBGE data.

“The initiative is based on the understanding that waste does not only happen due to a lack of planning, but also due to cultural standards that lead us to reject food that is perfectly suitable for consumption for aesthetic reasons or due to the mistaken idea of ​​abundance”, highlights Luiza Soares, leader of the Brasil Sem Desperdício program.

To bring the concept closer to people's daily lives, the campaign uses the term xepa, applied to leftovers at the end of the fair, to propose a change in behavior in which what is out of standard gains the value of a fundamental ingredient in food and business across the country.

Throughout the month of October, marked by World Food Day, the 16th, the campaign will feature actions with actress Laila Zaid and chef Bel Coelho at fairs and popular restaurants to discuss the issue.

Videos with interviews, statements and recipes with mature, rejected, non-aesthetic standards or close to disposal will also be broadcast on the social networks of the partner companies' program.

According to Luiza Soares, the expectation is to stimulate collective reflection on the way we attribute value to food and encourage concrete changes in behavior.

“We want more people to start seeing the use of food as a simple, possible and desirable practice”, he says.

For campaign organizers, in addition to food security, food waste also means waste of natural and energy resources used in production and disposal, which cause environmental and climate impacts.

“Food waste is, at the same time, an economic inefficiency, an environmental pressure and a social injustice”, reinforces Luiza.

To respond to this inefficiency, the campaign seeks the engagement of all sectors of society, from the consumer to large companies that sell food and social organizations and researchers who can propose innovations and solutions to stop waste.

“Transformation will not come from isolated initiatives, it depends on the ability of companies, governments, academia and society to collaborate around a common objective, sharing learning and defining new standards”, assesses Luiza Soares.