Dr. Parveen Kumar*
No one can imagine that globally 1.3 billion tons of the world's food is wasted yearly worth almost 1 trillion USD. This is as per the report of Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). According to World Bank, the highest percentage of food waste occurs in the developed countries (e. g North America 61% and Oceania) whereas highest percentage of Food loss occurs in developing countries mainly during production (39% in Sub Saharan Africa) and handling and Storage (37% in Sub Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia).
Food Loss and Waste is emerging as a serious challenge in our endaveour to ensure food and nutritional security for all and bringing in sustainability in our food systems. When food is lost or wasted, all the resources that were used to produce this food – including water, land, energy, labour and capital – go to waste. In addition, the disposal of food loss and waste in landfills, leads to greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate change. While an estimated 735 million people go hungry globally, food loss and food waste generate 8 to 10 per cent of Green House Gases and is a methane hotspot. Similarly Households waste over 1 billion meals worth of edible food every day, the equivalent of 1.3 meals every day for everyone in the world affected by huger. Food loss and waste undermine the sustainability of our food systems.
Of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), SDG 12.3 is related to ‘Responsible Consumption and Production', which emphasizes an urgent need to accelerate action to reduce food loss and waste. This is because at the global level, around 13.2 percent of food produced is lost between harvest and retail, while an estimated 19 percent of total global food production is wasted in households, in the food service and in retail all together. Food loss and Food waste are often misinterpreted. Both are being considered as one and the same thing which actually they are not. Both are different things. Food loss refers to a decrease in quantity or quality of food. Food Loss in the production and distribution segments of the food supply chain is mainly caused by the functioning of the food production and supply system or its institutional and legal framework. Food waste on the other hand refers to the removal of food from the food supply chain which is fit for consumption, or which has spoiled or expired, mainly caused by economic behaviour, poor stock management or neglect. The decrease i. e food loss may be accidental or intentional, but ultimately leads to less food availability for all. Food that gets spilled or spoilt before it reaches its final product or retail stage is called food loss. Food loss arises due to problems in harvesting, storage, packing, transport, infrastructure or market / price mechanisms, as well as institutional and legal frameworks. A harvested fruit when carried on a truck, if falls off that truck is considered food loss. Food that is fit for human consumption, but is not consumed because it is or left to spoil or discarded by retailers or consumers is called food waste. This may be because of rigid or misunderstood date marking rules, improper storage, buying or cooking practices. A carton of brown-spotted bananas thrown away by a shop, for instance, is considered food waste. Food waste is considered an important component of food loss and their extent is shocking.
What will surprise all of us is that about 1.4 billion hectares that comes close to about thirty per cent of available agricultural land, is used to grow food that subsequently gets wasted. In the United Kingdom for example about 15 million tonnes of food is lost or wasted each year and consumers throw away 4.2 million tonnes of edible food each year. The foods most commonly found in British bins are bread, vegetables, fruit and milk. This is particularly alarming given estimates that by 2050 food production will need to have to be increased by 60% on 2005 levels to feed a growing global population. In developing countries like ours there are high levels of what is known as “food loss”, which is unintentional wastage, often due to poor equipment, transportation and infrastructure. In developed countries like U.S, U. K, there are low levels of unintentional losses but high levels of “food waste”, which involves food being thrown away by consumers because they have purchased too much, or by retailers who reject food because of exacting aesthetic standards. The overall food waste that also includes agricultural produce, poultry and milk in India is also very high. India ranks seventh in overall food wastage with the Russian Federation at the top of the list. About twenty five per cent of fresh water, used to produce food, is ultimately wasted, even as millions of people still don't have access to drinking water. In addition, approximately 45 per cent of India's land is degraded primarily due to deforestation, unsustainable agricultural practices, and excessive groundwater extraction to meet the food demand. Besides this, nearly 300 million barrels of oil used to produce food is also ultimately wasted. Taking all of it into consideration, the actual worth of money per year in India from food wastage was estimated at a whopping Rs 58,000 crore a few years back.
The Government of India has already intensified its efforts to do away with this food loss. We have to primarily contain the excessive wastage in transportation and improve storage facilities that are currently not at par with that required. The Government is also focusing on value addition and food processing technologies that are both advanced and affordable so that food preservation practices can be encouraged thereby saving food from wastage. France has passed unanimous legislation requiring supermarkets to either give unsold food to charity or send it to farmers for use as feed and fertilizer. Similarly, institutions in Canada are recovering unused and unspoiled food from retailers, manufacturers, restaurants and caterers and sending them to charities, in the process delivering ingredients for over 22,000 meals daily. Such noble initiatives can also be tried in India. We can also effectively use technology to extend the shelf life of different commodities thereby preventing food wastage.
Our food systems cannot be resilient if they are not sustainable, hence the need to focus on the adoption of integrated approaches designed to reduce food loss and waste. Actions are required at the global as well as local level to maximize the use of the food we produce. The introduction of technologies, innovative solutions in value addition and processing and marketing innovations including e-commerce platforms for marketing, retractable mobile food processing systems are the need of hour. At the same time it is also important to raise awareness about food loss and waste and ways to reduce this menace. With all this, there is also an urgent need to renew our efforts towards raising awareness about the impact of and solutions for food loss and waste. So day like Sep. 29 celebrated as International Day for Awareness of Food Loss and Waste have immense importance. Such days should be properly utilized with respect to the purpose for which they are being celebrated.
*The author writes on agriculture and social issues, can be reached
at pkumar6674@gmail.com
