Photography exhibition depicting food waste opens in Ankara

12 February 2022, Ankara – In support of the national campaign against food loss and waste in Turkey, FAO, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Turkey, and the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality have jointly organized a ground-breaking photography exhibition by the Austrian photographer Klaus Pichler entitled “Grown for a Bin”.

The exhibition shows unconsumed food in various stages of decay arranged into an elaborate series of still life photographs. The provocative way that food waste is depicted seeks to draw public attention to the issue and bring about a necessary shift in behaviour. The exhibition will be displayed at Kızılay Metro Station in Ankara until 15 February 2022. 

Food loss and waste has become an issue of increasing public concern, with food losses exerting unnecessary pressure on the environment, economy and society. While food is lost and wasted along supply chains, it has been estimated* that as much as 61 percent of all food waste comes from households. Curbing this problem requires raising awareness among the public and empowering people to change their resource-intensive consumption patterns. 

Aysegul Selisik, Assistant FAO Representative in Turkey, asserted that everyone has a role to play in tackling the issue of food loss and waste: “Academia and research institutions must generate data and knowledge on food loss and waste to inform effective policies; governments must create an environment conducive to innovation and investment; and businesses must improve their methods of production, conservation and distribution of food. Equally, citizens must make sustainable choices as consumers. The exhibition that we open today aims to alert and sensitize public to the issue of food waste”.

Seyfettin Aslan, Head of the Health Affairs Department, Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, seconded the call for action at all levels: “It is our responsibility to future generations to take national and global measures to reduce food losses and waste, as natural resources are limited and the global population is expected to increase rapidly. To this end, all stakeholders should work together in a coordinated manner. In this regard, we are hosting the “Grown for a Bin” photo exhibition, organized together with FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Turkey, to raise public awareness about the urgency of the issue and to foster action”.

Zeynep Özkan, Head of the EU Harmonization Department and “Save Your Food” Campaign National Coordinator recalled that “in May 2020, as a result of a one-and-a-half year collaboration with FAO, the Ministry launched Turkey’s National Strategy and Action Plan on the Prevention, Reduction and Management of Food Loss and Waste. To this end, a series of intensive consultations with universities, municipalities, umbrella organizations, the private sector, civil society and public were carried out. The Ministry is continuing its cooperation with these stakeholders and groups to ensure the greatest possible impact”.

About the “Save Your Food” campaign:

Launched in May 2020, the national Save Your Food campaign is intended to raise awareness about the detrimental impacts of food loss and waste and to stimulate action along the food supply chain. The campaign is jointly implemented by FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Turkey under the “Reduction of Food Loss and Waste in Azerbaijan, Central Asia, and Turkey”. It is funded by Turkey through the FAO-Turkey Partnership Programme on Food and Agriculture. The project assists recipient countries (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) in developing national strategies and action plans for reducing food loss and waste.

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* United Nations Environment Programme (2021). Food Waste Index Report 2021. Nairobi.

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