On average, we humans waste about 40 per cent of our food on its journey from the farm to our fork.
In the recent years food waste has become one of the major issue attracting scientist, consumers and activists. The reason its becoming a worldwide concern is cause of the economic, social and environmental cost associated with it.
Food is wasted both in poor and wealthy countries. Food is wasted as sometimes it cannot be harvested or cannot be transported to storage areas or at times it gets spoiled in the storage even before it reaches the markets. Often in restaurants we order huge meals which are half eaten and the wasted food goes in the bins.
The world is currently going through a lot of stress environmental accidents and natural calamities, global warming, industrial pollution, epidemic but one more problem we are not aware of is FOOD WASTE. Almost 33-40% of all food produced globally is never eaten and the value of the wasted food is over $1 trillion.
Food waste is also a major concern as there are many people around the world who die of hunger and starvation every year. Around 800 million people globally don’t have access to food. The problem of hunger and starvation is not just only in poor and under developed countries but also in developed countries. And we can easily handle the problem of hunger and starvation if we take care of the problem of food waste.
By 2050 the world population is expected to rise from 7.6 billion to 9.8 billion. With so much increase in population keeping up with food requirements will be very tough and food waste will also proportionally increase over the time if we don’t do anything to solve the problem of food waste.
Food waste is also bad for the environment. Food wasted annually requires a land mass around the size of china. Various lands are deforested to make them usable for agriculture it results in soil being degraded various animals and plants species go extinct because of this. And also the food wasted accounts for around 25% of water consumption globally.
Apart from all this various resources are used to produce food which is never eaten and just thrown away. Resources like land, water, labor, energy, packaging, etc.
Impact of food waste on the environment
Food waste impacts the environment also in a huge way. Since various natural resources are used to produce food so when the food is wasted it like wasting the resources.
Water
The entire procedure of growing to harvesting the crop requires a lot of fresh water. Water is precious natural resource. When we waste food we also wasting the water. Already various lakes and rivers around the world are drying up we experiencing massive droughts. And in top of that when we waste food we wasting water.
Land Use
Land is also one of the most precious natural resources. 28% of the agricultural areas is used for production of food which is always wasted. And once the land is used it loses its original fertility then over the years a lot of chemicals and pesticides are added to the land which really degrades it over the period of time.
Manufacturing, Packaging and Energy
Various food items go through a significant manufacturing process. Food items are often processed into various other items and forms. The entire food processing procedure requires a lot of energy and also utilizes various other resources and a large part of this food goes to waste.
A lot of food also comes in plastic. And we all are already aware of the issue associated with the use of plastic. So more food wastage means more use of plastic. And often this plastic finds its way into oceans lakes etc.
Rotting of food produces certain greenhouse gases. Transportation of food in vehicles also produces pollution. And the greenhouse gases and carbon footprint adds to climate change. Clearly global food waste is an issue which leads to a number of problems.
Causes of food waste and how to stop it
1 – Lack of appropriate planning
Sometimes we as consumers due to lack of planning buy food in ample amount without planning when and how the food will be consumed.
2 – Errors in industrial processing and keeping up with food safety policies
One of the major causes of food waste is error in industrial processing. The food safety authorities have very strict norms when it comes to processed food they give no room for error. Any error in the processed food means according to the authority standard that food will have to be wasted. In the process companies always end up wasting a little bit of food.
Overcooking, production trials, packaging defects, trial runs, and wrong sizes and weights are some of the aspects resulting in imperfection and the eventual rejection of the foods.
3 – Managerial, financial and technical constrains
This problem mainly occurs in developing countries. The wastage occurs mainly because of lack of proper management, inadequate finances and technical difficulties in harvesting methods, storage and cooling problems in adverse weather conditions, processing, packaging, infrastructure and marketing systems.
4 – Over-preparation of food in restaurants, hotels and the food service industry
Most restaurants, hotels and the food service industry have a tendency of over preparing food. Over-preparation often leads to wastage of food if unsold. Restaurants often do this to save time and cost but they don’t realize the food which is not consumed often goes to waste like this.
5- Over-merchandising and over-ordering in food stores and supermarkets
Food wastage is often also when supermarkets, retail center, wholesale market purchase food in bulk. The over-merchandising of food items and products in retail centers, wholesale markets, and supermarkets often result in food wastage. As part of the merchandise always gets expired and food has to be thrown away in the bin.
6 – Consumer behavior
Different customers have different preferences and this highly influences consumer purchasing behavior on food items. Particularly, the consumer behavior on focus here is the tendency of having a keen insight for good judgment which results in those who only prefer unblemished vegetables and fruits, and the restrictive must display for shelf life dates.
Solution to food loss
1 – Reduce Loss in Certain Areas of the Process
Often a lot of food goes to waste even before it reaches the final consumer. There are new refrigeration technologies and renewable sources of energy. New safe to eat coating are being developed which can be applied on fruits and vegetables which control the amount of water and carbon dioxide the fruits and vegetables release. It also controls the amount of oxygen that enters the fruit, helping it stay fresher for longer.
2 – Donate Surplus Food
This idea is best suited for supermarkets. As supermarkets can donate unsold goods nearing expiry and significantly can reduce rotting or spoiling of food. There are a no of supermarket in UK which are already working with various charities on the same concept.
In France It is illegal for supermarkets to discard unused or expired edible food items so they make regular donations to the poor and needy ones.
3 – Turn Food Waste into Usable Goods
We can always come up with initiatives which help to curb the issue of food waste such as turning coffee cherries into flour or creating ale from left over bread. This is a great way to use perishable items that are not suitable for consumption but can be put to other uses.
4 – Balancing food production with demand
Another way to curb food waste is to balance the production with demand. In hotels and restaurants chefs and managers should ensure food should be cooked in accordance to the orders. Producing large batches of food not only results in food waste but also results in waste of time, labor and other resources.
5 – Consumers to buy and prepare food with a plan
Meal planning is not just for people into fitness. You can always plan out your meals for the week and buy food items according to the plan in small batches so less or no food is wasted due to expiration.
6 – Food recycling
Food recycling is already in process. Starch-rich foodstuff such as crisps, bread, biscuits and breakfast cereals can for instance be recycled into high quality.
So in the end I would just like to say food waste is one of the major issues we facing nowadays which is just adding to a lot of other environmental problems for us and our future generations. So next time you think of wasting food or throwing away food or even when you go to shop please buy responsibly and if the food can be used by someone who is hungry its better to give it away rather than just throwing it away.
