May 26th is Food Rescue Day. All food produced up to that date is mathematically uneaten. This corresponds to approximately 40% of all food produced worldwide. Dieter Bornemann uses impressive photographs to demonstrate food waste in private households in Austria. Isolde Bornemann provides the facts and offers solutions for reducing the mountain of culinary waste.
In an experiment, eleven families – with older and younger children, young and older couples, and a student shared apartment – recorded what they threw away for four weeks. They shared their experiences and insights. Everyone also had to be willing to be photographed with the food they had bought. And a final, unannounced look into the refrigerator was also photographed.
Many were immediately enthusiastic about it, but some waved it off: "We don't throw anything away," was a common refrain. But the statistics say otherwise. According to calculations by the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna (BOKU), every Austrian throws away around 75 kg of food at home each year. Even though the participating families fell far short of the food waste statistics, a considerable amount of fruit and vegetables, bread and pastries, dairy products, and pasta were captured on camera.
If you want to know how much food you throw away, use the following list, which you can find along with a short film about the making-of at the following link: kuechenfreundin.at/aufgegessen-das-buch or go directly to the list: kuechenfreundin.at///nicht-aufgegessen.pdf. or directly to the making-of: youtube.com/watch
Isolde "Isi" Bornemann is a food blogger, podcaster, and expert on sustainable enjoyment. She runs the food blog "Küchenfreundin" and talks to food experts about quality products, enjoyment, and sustainability in her podcast "Küchengespräche." The business economist also works as a management consultant for marketing and sustainability. Born in Carinthia, who lives in Vienna, she is passionate and respectful about promoting the responsible use of food.
Dieter Bornemann is a TV journalist and photographer. His images address socially relevant topics – from the widespread illness of depression to the effects of artificial intelligence (AI). His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and media reports. Bornemann graduated from the Vienna School of Photography and attended the New York Film Academy. He was the jury chairman for the Austrian Federal Prize for Professional Photographers.
The photographs from the book can be seen in an exhibition entitled AUFGEGESSEN! at the La Gacilly-Baden Photo Festival from June 13 to October 12, 2025.
AUFGEGESSEN . Isolde Bornemann Dieter Bornemann . 29,7 × 21 cm, 144 Seiten, 110 Fotos . Deutsch, Hardcover . ISBN 978-3-903462-14-4 . EUR 39,90 . Mai 2025 . edition.lammerhuber.at//aufgegessen
GoSee : festival-lagacilly-baden.photo