Contributor: Patrick Ko (Intern)

With the initiative of encouraging citizens to avoid food waste and promote sustainability, the New Taipei City Government developed the Food Wise Little Masters Film Competition. To participate, elementary and middle school students had to make a video displaying the cooking process and explaining each ingredient used in their dishes. Thus, the competition encouraged students to use creative methods to explain their ingredients and find different ways to avoid food waste. The goals of the competition are congruent with the New Taipei City Government’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are aligned with the 2030 United Nations agenda. 
 
Every year, 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted worldwide, equivalent to US$1 trillion. While in Taiwan, the amount of wasted food is not small either, with 16.5 million tons of food wasted yearly. New Taipei City wants to do its part for the world and hopes to become a model for sustainable future cities. SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) is the most crucial for the competition as it hopes to bring attention to the issue of food waste and sustainable uses of food ingredients. For example, not every part of an ingredient is used to make a dish; thus, to avoid waste, they could be made into food for animals or fertilizer.
 
Furthermore, SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption & Production) are relevant to the competition. In the case of SDG 10, the event curtails disparities by reducing the inequality gap between rural and urban areas. By holding the competition online, children from the countryside could participate. Regarding SDG 12, the event enables students to teach adults how to avoid wasting food and overconsumption.
 

Competent Authority: Social Welfare Department