Hospital officials say that they are throwing a way a lot of uneaten food, most of it vegetables. A parliamentarian on the environmental committee believes this is due to a lack of education.
RÚV reports that while most restaurants in Iceland throw away about 15% of the food they order, Iceland’s hospital throw away about 30%. Heiða Björk Hilmisdóttir, the department head of the National Hospital kitchen, says that the vast majority of this wasted food is comprised of vegetables.
The solution, she says, is to offer a “a more varied menu”, comparable to that which people might find in restaurants. The goal here is not so much to find ways to encourage people to eat healthier, but rather ways to encourage them to simply eat more food.
However, Vísir spoke with Social Democrat MP Ólína Þorvarðardóttir, who is the vice chairperson of the parliamentary environmental committee. She says that wasted food is the result of a lack of education from an early age, such that over time, the nation as a whole has been losing respect for food. At the same time, she points out, Icelanders are on average becoming heavier.
Ólina believes the solution starts in school, where children should be taught to eat healthier.
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