A Teaspoon of Data on Food

Mass food production, which is due to climate change becoming increasingly unreliable, long transport routes and many times unreasonable exploitation of natural resources, as well as pollution and food waste, are the reasons that provision of safe (i.e. not damaging to health) and high quality food has become one of the priorities of social development. Food is becoming an increasingly important strategic resource.
Before we started to prepare this publication we had reviewed many of the already published data that relate to food in Slovenia. Statistical data often confirm the findings of experts that our eating habits are not the best. They also show that our eating and shopping habits are gradually changing. The data on average monthly earnings and retail prices of food in Slovenia indicate that food is not available to all people equally. Many households spend the larger part of their assets on food. In food production and consumption some of the food is inevitably discarded. Food waste generation can not be entirely avoided. However, every one of us can contribute to less food waste.
The data shown were combined into six sections: the first one is about the importance of food, the second one about the availability of agricultural products, the third one about self-sufficiency in food and the origin of food consumed in Slovenia, the fourth one about the eating habits and our attitude towards food, the fifth one about shopping habits of people and the last one about the economic availability of food.
The publication is intended for a wide audience since the presented contents reflect at least in part the lifestyle and behaviour of each of us. The safety and quality of food we and our future generations will eat depend on the support given to food producers in Slovenia as well as on us, the consumers, namely on our attitude towards food as our basic resource.