1. Summarize your business in one sentence.
La Faim du Monde is a project that aims to reduce food waste by raising awareness around the issue, as well as, by finding solutions that businesses can implement in practice.
2. How long have you been in business?
Our first website was launched in 2012, and the first trip where 100% of all the food consumed came from dumpster diving, was completed in 2014.
Currently, the plan is to travel from Paris to New York, only consuming food that is destined for the dustbin. This journey will invovled bicycyling and paddle boating across the ocean.
To bring global attention to this issue we started a petition urging the best before dates on food to be removed in Europe. We are also researching the freeze drying process on food, to see if it’s a better option that sending it to the landfill. The process of freeze drying food, where the water is removed (not by heating the product but by freezing it), enables the food to last as long as needed. It’s a bit like putting it in the freezer, only you don’t need more energy for it, and the food regains its original taste when water is added again.
3. Why did you decide to start the company?
I realized that we were wasting a big amount of food when working, while completing my studies, and I felt the need to do something about it. I couldn’t continue working at the same place when I saw that we were in some ways responsible for the starvation of people, without talking or raising awareness about agriculture and the environment.
4. What has been your biggest achievement so far?
I’m not sure we achieved anything yet. There have been many conferences around Europe, but how can we know if it’s useful? This takes time.
5. How do you measure success?
As we are dealing with a global issue it’s quite difficult. We will know this once we have reached a goal of creating a world where no person goes hungry. On a smaller scale, people give us feedback on how they realized the importance of this issue and decided to take actions as well, starting from their home (for instance, by wasting less food).
6. What have you learned in the process?
Lots of things about nutrition. About how our body works, how to work with others, how to share knowledge, and other useful things like that.
7. What advice would you give to someone trying to start a sustainable food company?
Anyone who wants to reduce food waste as well. I suppose the best thing they can do is to join us! :D haha. No, just be happy about what you do!
8. What’s next? Anything else you want to add?
Well, if we convince the European Parliament to remove the best before dates and get all supermarkets to freeze dry their food rather than throwing it away, I’m not sure what we would do. If every one had enough to eat I think we would want to bring peace, try to ask people to create globally a universal anthem, and show everyone that the most important human values are shared by all of us. It would be an anthem to life, love, empathy, fraternity, joy, etc., and it would probably help people stop considering every problem as being caused by someone else. We are dreamers, but we work hard on making our dreams come true, and we are not alone, maybe someday you’ll join us … If you are on Facebook, you can find us here.
And if you do want to join us, then please sign the petition to ask the European Parliament to remove the best before dates.
9. Fun question: what was the best meal you ate this week?
by Dubanchet Baptiste
Say No To Food Waste 