Over 30-50% of the world's food is lost or wasted, amounting to about 1.3 billion tons annually. With nearly 900 million people already undernourished and the world population increasing, the level of food waste is unacceptable. Food is wasted at all stages, from being left unharvested in fields due to aesthetic standards to spoiling in storage or going uneaten by consumers. Better infrastructure, practices and education could significantly reduce this waste and help feed more people. There is a clear need for changes in individual habits and policies across food systems to address this serious global issue.
Over 30-50% of the world's food is lost or wasted, amounting to about 1.3 billion tons annually. With nearly 900 million people already undernourished and the world population increasing, the level of food waste is unacceptable. Food is wasted at all stages, from being left unharvested in fields due to aesthetic standards to spoiling in storage or going uneaten by consumers. Better infrastructure, practices and education could significantly reduce this waste and help feed more people. There is a clear need for changes in individual habits and policies across food systems to address this serious global issue.
Over 30-50% of the world's food is lost or wasted, amounting to about 1.3 billion tons annually. With nearly 900 million people already undernourished and the world population increasing, the level of food waste is unacceptable. Food is wasted at all stages, from being left unharvested in fields due to aesthetic standards to spoiling in storage or going uneaten by consumers. Better infrastructure, practices and education could significantly reduce this waste and help feed more people. There is a clear need for changes in individual habits and policies across food systems to address this serious global issue.
Over 30-50% of the world's food is lost or wasted, amounting to about 1.3 billion tons annually. With nearly 900 million people already undernourished and the world population increasing, the level of food waste is unacceptable. Food is wasted at all stages, from being left unharvested in fields due to aesthetic standards to spoiling in storage or going uneaten by consumers. Better infrastructure, practices and education could significantly reduce this waste and help feed more people. There is a clear need for changes in individual habits and policies across food systems to address this serious global issue.
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AN APPALLING
WASTE OF FOOD
ALARMING
A new report estimates that between 30
and 50 percent of all the food produced in the world is lost and wasted the truth is that almost all of us contribute to this problem about half of the 4.4 billion tons of food that is produced worldwide annually is never eaten about one-third of all food produced 1.3 billion tons was wasted annually
THERE IS NO ROOM FOR SUCH
PRACTICES
With 870 million people already suffering
from chronic malnutrition, the world population exceeding 7 billion and climbing, and climate change altering agricultural production
THE CAUSES
Some food is left in the fields, more is
wasted because of poor storage and transportation. Still more is wasted by markets and consumers.
Ultimately, the scale of waste is large
enough to prevent the world from sustainably meeting our future food demands, especially when it is estimated that food production must double by 2050.
STEPS THAT CAN AND SHOULD BE TAKEN
TO REMEDY THIS ABSURD SITUATION
In hot climates, post-harvest wastage of fruit and
vegetables ranges between 35 and 50 percent. Ghana lost 50 percent of its stored corn in 2008 because of poor storage facilities Better storage in Pakistan could reduce food losses by 16 percent Better roads will speed up the time it takes for crops to reach markets better information about demand relayed by cellphone for example could help ensure that farmers get their goods to the right markets
continued
In the developed world, much of the food loss occurs on
the corporate end because the food does not meet aesthetic standards. Incredibly, as much as 30 percent of the British vegetable crop is not harvested because it does not meet marketing standards for size and appearance. The Japanese should understand that problem, as consumers here are some of the most finicky in the world, demanding products that are perfect, pristine and pretty. Food scandals have also encouraged consumers and supermarkets to keep a close eye on sell-by dates. Food retailers all over the world adhere strictly to such warnings, resulting in severe losses
FOOD IN JAPAN
Estimates of the amount of waste in Japan range from 17
million to 23 million tons a year;
the low end of that forecast is equivalent to 30 percent of the
countrys domestic production, The high end is worth almost 11 trillion and is the monetary equivalent of Japans annual agricultural output. Experts reckon it costs another 2 trillion to dispose of that waste.
Tokyo alone produces about 6,000 tons of food waste a day, an
amount sufficient to feed 4.5 million people a day.
In total, some 40 percent of all food in Japan ends up in the
garbage. And this occurs when 750,000 people in Japan lack food security and 60 percent of food is imported into the country. Short sell-by dates for prepared foods often just several hours long at convenience stores also results in tremendous waste of perfectly good food
CHANGE THE SHOPPING AND EATINGS
HABITS
It is not uncommon for shoppers in the
developed world to throw away as much as half the food they buy. The tendency to indulge is driven by marketing schemes that offer buy one, get one free, even if we really do not need that second item. It is hard to say no to a bargain. We need to learn to say no more effectively. If consumers make conscious effort to change their habits, retailers will notice.
CONTINUED
On the individual level, they need to be
conscious of the less fortunate before they throw good food out. And, they too should be encouraging the organizations they work for and the places they shop to be equally solicitous of the needy. Education should emphasize the need to avoid wasting food. Again, it is all about sending signals.
It is unrealistic to expect to eliminate all
waste in food. But the idea that one-half of food production is wasted and that much of it is because of aesthetic reasons is intolerable
Project:
Food waste within food supply
chains: is there any potential for change? Food insecurity in the world
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