GERMAN APPS : ''UNSOLD FOOD WASTE'' : 2/2

ACTIVISTS have built online communities to share food with neighbours before throwing it away.

Startups have teamed up with supermarkets to create applications that alert consumers when groceries that are about to expire are marked down.

Even the government has launched a phone app offering recipes by celebrity chefs made specifically for left-over groceries that often get discarded.

ON average, EVERY German throws away more than 55 kilograms [120 pounds] of food a year, the government says.

That's about 11 million tons of food annually, which creates six million tons of carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming.

Globally, about one third of the food ends up in the garbage.

Emissions come from burning the wasted food in the first place. For example, cattle raised for beef and milk are the animal species responsible for the most emissions, representing about 65% of the livestock sectors emissions according to the UN.

Scientists say the only possible way to slow down global warming is by drastically reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide in the coming decades.

Doing so means ending the use of fossil fuels and cutting back on other sources of emissions such as  intensive land use for agriculture.

The German government has said it wants to reduce food waste by half until 2030 and Chancellor  Angela Merkel called on all citizens to support initiatives that help avoid food waste.

''I think that every single person can contribute to this big goal,'' Merkel said during her weekly podcast in February.

''Digitization can help with intelligent packaging and [online] platforms via which one can then share food.'' [AP]