Stop Food Loss and Waste.
For the People. For the Planet.
Indian ancient scriptures always respected all forms of food. With the progress made by humankind in achieving prosperity and enhancing the quality of life, humans have forgotten not to waste food; sustainable food availability is crucial for their survival. Enough food is produced that can feed everyone. Yet millions suffer from hunger and malnutrition. World observes 29 September “International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste”. Actions at the global level are needed, both at the individual and systemic levels. The food waste that goes into landfills leads to greenhouse gas (predominantly methane) emissions (8-10%), adversely impacting the climate. All the stakeholders, the governments, cities, municipalities, and food businesses must work together. At the individual level, take that much that is sufficient for you, especially when you go to public places of celebration, where variety and abundant food is available to the guests.
“Annam Parabrahma Swaroopam”.
Food is, in truth, the Lord of Creation. From food, seed is produced, and from these, beings are born.
Prasna Upanishad
Indian ancient scriptures always respected all forms of food. Food is the god’s creation and is professed to be respected and preserved. With the progress made by humankind in achieving prosperity and enhancing the quality of life, humans have forgotten not to waste food; sustainable food availability is crucial for their survival.
Enough food is produced that can feed everyone. Yet millions suffer from hunger and malnutrition. An estimate puts it at 735 million people who go hungry globally. The number is increasing every year. It is essential to reduce food losses and waste. Each day, large quantities of food are wasted. FAO estimate indicates that globally, ~13.2% of food produced is lost between harvest and retail. ~19% of the food produced is wasted in households in food retail service. Loss of food and waste translates into financial loss. It impacts both those who produce the food and those who consume it. Large amounts of resources, land, water, energy, and labour are involved in producing food. When food is wasted, all these contributions go to waste. Imagine food is cooked at home by the parent or spouse and not consumed. What a waste of effort it will be.
World observes 29 September “International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste”. It is a UN observation with active participation from “Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)” and the “UN Environment Programme (UNEP)”. This year’s observation highlights the need to finance efforts to reduce food loss and waste. These lead to achieving climate goals and realising the SDG goals. It aims to halve per capita food waste.
The waste of food undermines the sustainability of the food ecosystem. There is another connotation to wasting food. The food waste that goes into landfills leads to greenhouse gas (predominantly methane) emissions (8-10%), adversely impacting the climate.
Households contribute most to food waste (60%). Countries with higher temperatures waste more food per capita in households. The time food continues to be edible is reduced due to high ambient temperatures. There are Urban-Rural Disparities. Rural areas generally waste less. There is a lack of data worldwide, which prevents us from taking adequate measures.
Actions at the global level are needed at the times, both at the individual and systemic levels. All the stakeholders, the governments, cities, municipalities, and food businesses must work together. Public-private partnership is needed to maximise its impact. Introducing newer technologies, innovative solutions, and methods of managing food waste is vital to transformative change.
At the individual level, take that much that is sufficient for you, especially when you go to public places of celebration, where variety and abundant food is available to the guests.
Reducing food loss and waste is crucial for improving food security and nutrition, promoting the efficient use of resources, protecting the environment, and fostering a more equitable distribution of food resources globally.
QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN
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