Picture farmland. Suppose this is the sole source of what you will be able to eat. You will cultivate rice, vegetables, and all that you will need on this very patch of land. The food of your entire family is about to depend on this field. But what if this entire plot of arable land becomes barren? What if you can’t grow anything here no matter how hard you try? How will you and your family survive with such a dire lack of food? This is exactly the situation that we will face if we observe food scarcity from a global perspective. The problem is that the entire value chain is so large, and has so many systems that we barely get to see the complete picture.
While food is the fundamental element in sustaining all life forms, the entire ecosystem through which food is cultivated, distributed, and even consumed has an accumulated effect on its availability. That is why World Food Day is annually observed on October 16 in all parts of the globe to incite discussions related to the importance of good nutrition and food policies. Ever since its inception in the November of 1979, World Food Day has always been the annual congregation of global leaders and policymakers who raise awareness about hunger, malnutrition, sustainability, and food production. While last year’s theme was “Grow, nourish, sustain. Together. Our actions are our future.”, this year’s focus is on celebrating the individuals who have made their own marks in aspiring to create a sustainable planet where no one has an empty plate. Despite highlighting global changemakers, this year’s World Food Day event preaches that we all can do our fair share of work in creating a hunger-free world.
How big is the problem?
While many might have a preconceived notion that food scarcity is only evident in the poorer parts of the world, the reality is that this phenomenon can be found in the developed parts of the world as well. Globally, as close to 40% of the world’s total population are deprived of having a healthy diet. And on the other side of the coin, 2 million people are suffering from obesity due to a poor diet. A significant portion of the food, roughly around 14%, gets wasted as well, due to inefficiencies of the entire supply chain – harvesting, handling, storage, and transit. And this entire value chain poses a threat to the environment as well. The global food sector, which employs around 1 billion people, is responsible for more than 33% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
But the single issue that poses the most critical threat to this global food scarcity situation is food waste. Theoretically, wasted food can be categorized into two distinct segments – food loss and food waste. Food loss is the bigger problem at hand, where all the food that remains uneaten in homes, super shops, the crops left in the field, and also the spoilt food in transit from the field to the market. On the other hand, food waste becomes a problem when discarded by retailers due to its shabby appearance and shape, as well as the food that consumers through away while eating it. This means that the part of the burger that you through away during your visit to the favorite burger shop also contributes to the global count of wasted food in the form of food waste.
How does food waste impact our environment?
The food that we throw away at any point in the entire value chain is most likely to end up in a landfill. Once it is there, food starts producing a large amount of a gas called methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is much more powerful than carbon dioxide. This gas eventually goes up the atmosphere and absorbs infrared radiation, thus eventually heating up the Earth’s atmosphere and causing an irreversible change in the Earth’s climate. Throwing out 1 kg of beef is intrinsically wasting 50,000 liters of water that were used throughout the entire production process. And that same manner, you spoil 1000 liters of pure water simply by throwing a glass of milk on it.
Statistically, around 1.4 billion hectares of farmland are used to produce food that ends up in the plates of humans all across the world. But the harsh reality is that the food produced in one-third of this land gets wasted. And it’s not merely the farmlands and water bodies that are affected by food waste. A study by global consulting firm McKinsey has found out that household food losses account for 8 times more energy waste compared to the energy waste done by farm-level food losses. This is mostly due to the energy that is used in all parts of the entire food supply chain process – from preparation to transportation to reach the end consumer.
How much food do we waste?
While the level and pattern of food waste vary from country to country, the adverse effects are all shocking nonetheless. In the UK, an organization named WRAP has deduced that if all wasted food were removed from the landfills there, then the decrease in the total greenhouse gas produced will be the same as removing one-fifth of all the vehicles from the streets. In the USA, a mere 5% of food gets fully composted, and hence, uneaten food accounts for the single largest municipal solid waste. The situation is also dire in Bangladesh as well. According to Kenya-based United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)’s Food Waste Index Report 2021, a typical household in Bangladesh wastes around 65 kg of food per year on average. Pakistan’s annual per capita food waste is at around 74 kg per year, while the one in India is a bit under control, with the number being at 50 kg per year.
What are the solutions at hand?
While the problems seem to be massive, there are still rays of hope. We all can do our fair portion of work in order to decrease the global food waste scenario. These are some of the actions that we can take in order to incorporate sustainable eating habits into our everyday lifestyle –
Have a plant-based diet – Plant-based foods have a lower carbon footprint compared to meat and animal-based products. So, even if plant-based food is wasted, it will comparatively have a lesser impact than a meat-based meal. Becoming a vegetarian is solely up to you, but having a higher portion of plant-based meals within your daily food intake is not just better for your system, but better for the environment as well.
Be mindful of your seafood options – While many of us savor the diverse range of fish and other seafood delicacies, you must be mindful of what you are eating. In some cases, we delightfully enjoy having an exotic fish or any other aquatic animal, while completing not realizing the hamper it is doing in the overall aquatic biodiversity. So the next time you go and have an exotic fish during your summer holidays, be mindful and aware that you’re not pushing that very species towards extinction.
Consciously avoid food waste – Whether you are dining in your house or you’re sitting in your favorite restaurant for the weekend brunch, make sure you don’t take more than you can eat. Take small portions and keep an eye out during refills. It’s absolutely fine to indulge in a mouth-watering dish; you just need to make sure nothing ends up in the trash can.
Improve food storage – While weekend sales and in-app offers can prove to be quite tempting, it’s better not to buy in bulk. Why? Simply because the inability to store your purchases will result in food waste. And having to through away a large amount of food will not just end up hurting your wallet, it will also cause permanent damage to the environment around you.
Grow your own food – While this is easier said than done, many of us can try doing it on a small aspect. You might not be able to cultivate acres of land to match your annual rice consumption, but you can surely use your rooftop or verandah to grow small patches of fruits and vegetables that you and all your family members can later consume. The benefit? You reduce certain dependency on stores and the probability of perishable items getting wasted in transit also reduces.
Always maintain a shopping list – This is also one of the smartest and easiest solutions to tackling a problem as large as global food wastage. Let’s say you impulsively brought a week’s worth of tomatoes, only to come back home and see that you already have another few kilograms of tomatoes stacked in the refrigerator! The outcome? Rotten tomatoes. So, making a list prior to grocery shopping not only helps you become more efficient but also helps steer clear from any chances of food wastage.
Use the FIFO method in your kitchen – FIFO is a popular term among accountants. You can also use FIFO (First In First out) to cook the food that you have brought earlier while saving the later ones to be cooked next week.
Maintain a weekly menu – Making a weekly meal menu can help some people organize their food consumption and reduce waste. You can easily create an appropriate grocery list by using internet resources or cookbooks to help plan out meals for the week. It may take a few weeks for each household to get the plan just right, but having a preordained weekly program may help some individuals avoid wasting food by reducing the guessing around meals.
-Written By FARHAT CHOWDHURY (ZISHAN)
