An artist in Brazil has created a public work of art made of thrown out food to send a message about food wastage in developed countries.
Brazilian graffiti artist Narcélio Grud created his new art project, titled "Tropical Hungry," using an interesting new medium: discarded fruits and vegetables.
"As I walked around the street market I could notice the waste of so many materials," shared Grud, whose work focuses on urban art, with the Latin Times. "This made me think about what could be done to utilize that organic matter. And as my work is related to urban art, my thought was almost automatic: to paint a wall."
The artwork, which depicts an open mouth, was made after Grud collected leftover decomposing fruits and vegetables at local markets. He then separated the produce by color and started creating his piece on a blank wall.
"As an artist I like to try new things on my production, I am always in search of different ways of doing art," added Grud. "Besides this, hunger is something that should not exist anymore in our world, once there is evolution, technology and improved means of production. Hence, it is unacceptable that from every seven people in the planet, one still suffers from hunger."
Grud makes a valid point--food wastage is a serious concern worldwide, as the United Nation's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) has estimated that 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted each year and according to a new report by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IME), 30 to 50 percent of food produced is wasted.
With 13.1 percent of the world qualifying as hungry, food wastage is a problem that exceeds beyond just the conservation of resources and an efficient allocation of food. Consider this: It has been reported that 7.6 million children died of hunger in 2010, 98 percent of worldwide hunger exists in underdeveloped countries, and one in every 15 children in developed nations die from hunger.
The tragic truth is that the hunger crisis in the world is not because there isn't enough food since, as a whole, the world produces enough food to feed all 7 billion of its inhabitants. The disproportionate distribution of food occurs when the food doesn't reach those who are starving due to poverty, environmental factors that prevent crop growth, and food wastage.
Robert van Otterdijk, an official with the SAVE FOOD Initiative at FAO, shared with the Latin Times via email that from an economic standpoint, throwing away food is often cheaper than alternative options. And the direct impact of this waste is food insecurity making food less available to those who need it, a decrease in food quality and safety, economic losses, the loss of biodiversity, and the spike in greenhouse gas emissions. SAVE FOOD is a global partnership for public and private organizations to reduce food losses and waste world-wide.
"Controlling and reducing the level of wastage is frequently beyond the capability of the individual farmer, distributor or consumer, since it depends on market philosophies, security of energy supply, quality of roads and the presence of transport hubs," states the report by the IME. "These are all related more to societal, political and economic norms, as well as better-engineered infrastructure, rather than to agriculture. In most cases the sustainable solutions needed to reduce waste are well known. The challenge is transferring this know-how to where it is needed, and creating the political and social environment which encourages both transfer and adoption of these ideas to take place."
Check out Grud's artistic process below:
About The Artist: Narcélio Grud is Brazil-based artist who has had fifteen years of experience exploring various forms or art, including: paintings, songs, musical instruments, videos, low-tech tools, and more. He aims for his art to be open and accessible, as his desire is to interact with and to provoke the public. For more information about Narcélio Grud and his work, check out his Flickr page.
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