Interesting Facts about Food Waste and Economy

World Food Day, established by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), is celebrated every year on October 16 since 1979. World Food Day 2020 likewise denotes the 75th anniversary of FAO with the theme “Grow, nourish, sustain. Together. Our actions are our future“.

For the individuals who may not know about the way that such a day exists, it is an international day praised each year around the globe on 16 October out of appreciation for the date of the establishing of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945. FAO is a particular office of the UN that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.

The association’s primary objective is to accomplish food security for all and ensure that individuals have regular access to enough high-quality food. With more than 194 member states, FAO works in more than 130 nations around the world.

Having food is something to celebrate yet have you ever pondered deliberately much food you waste. Have you ever halted to break down exactly what amount of food is wasted in your family, society, nation, and the world? It isn’t something that individuals, who have food promptly accessible at whatever point they feel hungry, stress over. Notwithstanding, for individuals who are not even ready to eat one meal daily, frequently keep thinking about whether all the food that is being wasted around them consistently might have filled their stomach.

Food waste is an issue of significance to global food security and the environment. Yet, what a ton of people may not understand is that it impacts a nation’s economy too. Every day, food suitable for human consumption is wasted in enormous amounts in medium and high-income nations at the retail and consumer level. Actually, a huge food loss and waste happen at the creation of preparing stages in the food supply chain in low-income countries.

It’s difficult to believe that, in a nation where 40 million individuals face hunger each day, so much food could go uneaten. However, this is exactly what’s going on – and we’re all halfway to a fault. Completely good food is being wasted at each degree of the supply chain: on the farm, during distribution, at the store, and in our homes. Notwithstanding the tremendous humanitarian cost, our food waste epidemic is additionally an economic and environmental catastrophe.

Food Wastage in India

Despite the conviction of Indians that we don’t waste food, information demonstrated that India wastes as much food as the entire United Kingdom consumes. Indeed, food wastage is a disturbing issue in India, and the nation’s roads, trash containers, and landfills have adequate proof to demonstrate this. As per the United Nations Development Programme, up to 40 percent of the food created in India is wasted and around 21 million tons of wheat is wasted yearly.

You don’t need to scour through a few resources to perceive how much food is wasted in the country. During the nationwide lockdown this year, India registered high wastage on account of a poor supply chain. Food delivery website MilkBasket lost 15,000 liters of milk and 10,000 kg of vegetables in a single day after delivery agents were denied entry in societies because of lockdown. Ranchers in the Belagavi region of Karnataka spilled a great many liters of milk in a river after they couldn’t contact the individuals because of the lockdown. A few different reports surfaces which indicated how much food was wasted.

Food Wastage in America

Wasting food is a waste of cash. As indicated by ReFed, American buyers, organizations, and farms spend $218 billion, or 1.3% of our GDP, developing, processing, and disposing of food that is never eaten. Organizations are taking a $74 billion loss on food waste each year.

The United States is the global leader in food waste, with Americans disposing of almost 40 million tons of food every year. That is 80 billion pounds of food and equates to more than $161 billion, around 219 pounds of waste for every individual and 30-40 percent of the US food supply. The vast majority of this food is shipped off landfills; food is the single biggest component occupying space inside US landfills. Truth be told, it makes up 22 percent of municipal solid waste (MSW).

If diminishing food uncertainty and saving the planet isn’t sufficient to inspire activity to lessen food waste, maybe one all the more valid justification will: cash. As indicated by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Americans waste more than $161 billion every year on food, with dairy products being the food thing we throw out the most. The normal American family of four throws out $1,600 every year in produce. Multiply that by the regular 18 years that a child lives at home and you could undoubtedly pay for a year of educational cost at quite a few America’s private schools or colleges.

Food Wastage stats:

Around 67 million tons of food is wasted in India every year which has been esteemed at around Rs 92,000 crores. For context, this amount is sufficient to take care of all of Bihar for a year.

Every year, almost 21 million metric tonnes of wheat spoils in India. This figure is equivalent to Australia’s total annual production.

As per old 2018 BMC information, Mumbai produces near 9,400 metric tonnes of strong waste every day, from which 73% is food, vegetable, and fruit waste, while just 3% is plastic.

National Delhi likewise produces around 9,000 metric tonnes of waste every day, with the nation’s biggest landfill situated in East Delhi.

Economic Impact:

Food Wastage prompts negative environmental effects as well as purposes of economic loss. As indicated by an FAO report, around 33% of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted. The economic expenses of this food wastage are significant and amount to about $1 trillion every year. Nonetheless, the hidden expenses of food wastage broaden a lot further. Notwithstanding the $1 trillion of economic expenses for each year, environmental costs reach around $700 billion and social expenses around $900 billion.

Global food wastage costs according to the FAO report:

• 3.5 Gt CO2e of greenhouse gas emissions. Because of the social expense of carbon, these are estimated to cause $394 billion of harms for each year.

• Expanded water shortage, especially for dry areas and seasons. Worldwide, this is assessed to cost $164 billion every year.

• Soil erosion because water is assessed to cost USD 35 billion every year through nutrient Soil erosion due to water is estimated to cost USD 35 billion per year through nutrient loss, lower yields biological losses, and off-site damages. The cost of wind erosion may be of a similar magnitude.

• Risks to biodiversity including the effects of pesticide use, nitrate and phosphorus eutrophication, pollinator losses, and fisheries overexploitation are assessed to cost $32 billion every year.

• Expanded risk of contention because of soil erosion, assessed to cost $396 billion every year.

• Loss of livelihoods because of soil erosion assessed to cost $333 billion every year.

• Antagonistic health impacts because of pesticide exposure, assessed to cost $153 billion every year.

Before this year, previous Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan said that in the financial year 2019-20, foodgrain wastage in the nation remained at 1,930 tonnes, which was 0.002 percent of the complete acquisition. The total obtainment in FY 2019-20 was 751.72 LMT (Lakh Metric Tons). The minister shared the information on Twitter and stated that the thought that foodgrain wastage is high in FCI (Food Corporation of India) godowns isn’t accurate. While he was correct, actually over 1,000 tonnes of foodgrains were wasted which might have fed millions of individuals.

Since obviously food wastage disables a nation’s economy to a degree that most are ignorant, a few estimates that the administration needs to take is to incorporate containing wastage in transportation, improve storerooms. Food processing additionally should be accelerated so food is saved and wasted less to feed more.

Facts About Food Waste

1. Approximately 33% of the food created that is proposed for human consumption consistently around 1.3 billion tons and esteemed at USD$1 trillion-is wasted or lost. This is sufficient to feed 3 billion individuals.

2. The water used to create the food wasted could be used by 9 billion individuals at around 200 liters for each individual every day.

3. The food as of now wasted in Europe could take care of 200 million individuals, in Latin America 300 million individuals and Africa 300 million individuals.

4. Annual per capita waste by customers is between 95-115kgs per year for Europeans and North Americans, while in the south and southeastern Asia, it is 6-11kgs.

5. Food loss and waste accounts for about 4.4 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions yearly.

6. On the off chance that food loss was a nation, it would be the third-biggest greenhouse gas emitter, behind China and the US.

7. Developed and developing countries waste or lose generally a similar amount of food every year, at 670 and 630 million tons respectively. Around 88 million tons of this is in the EU alone.

8. Separating it by food group, losses and waste every year are generally 30% for cereals, 40-50% for root crops and fruit and vegetables, 20% for oilseed and meat and dairy, and 35% for fish.

9. On the off chance that 25% of the food presently being lost or wasted globally were saved, it is sufficient to feed 870 million individuals around the globe.

10. Food losses convert into lost income for farmers and higher prices for purchasers, giving us an economic incentive to diminish food waste.

11. By mid-century, the world population will hit 9 billion individuals. By that point, food production must be expanded by 70% to fulfill this need.

12. In developing nations, 40% of losses happen at the post-harvest and processing stages, while in developed nations, over 40% of losses happen at the retail and consumer levels.

13. At the retail level, enormous amounts of food are wasted because of quality guidelines that over-emphasize appearance indeed, half of all produce is discarded in the US since it is regarded excessively “ugly” to eat; this adds up to 60 million tons of fruits and vegetables.

14. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals incorporates the vow to divide per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer level and lessen food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.

15. 25% of the world’s fresh water supply is used to develop food that is never eaten.

16. As indicated by a study directed by Respect Food, 63% of individuals don’t have the foggiest idea about the difference between “use by” and “best before” dates. Foods with “use by” dates are perishable and must be eaten before the given date. Foods with “best before” dates can be eaten after the given date, yet it won’t be at its best quality.

17. Promotions in supermarkets may prompt more food waste; we may purchase more food that we don’t really require if we think we are getting more for our cash.

18. Crops are now and then left unharvested because they don’t meet grocery store quality, which is frequently dictated by appearance.

19. In Europe, 40-60% of fish caught are disposed of because they don’t meet supermarket quality guidelines.

20. In the US, organic waste is the biggest source of methane emissions.

What you can do?

While government intervention is important to contain the wastage, the residents additionally assume a significant role. There is so much that you can do on a more close to home level to contain the food wastage. Here are a few different ways you can decrease food wastage on an individual level:

1. Plan out your dinner and make your shopping list ahead of time to figure out what you really need. Prior information recommended that about 20% of what we purchase in metropolitan India ends up being discarded. You could eliminate the excess and contain wastage.
2. Purchase in amounts you can sensibly use. Avoid impulse purchases since it will pretty much find itself in the bin.
3. If you cook at home, ensure you cook remembering there is no abundance. On the off chance that you end up making more food than what can be consumed, don’t discard it. Feed somebody around you who needs that meal.
4. Select as per their time span of usability. Use green vegetables first with the goal that they don’t get terrible. Try not to throw out fruits and veggies with ‘aesthetic only’ imperfections. Use canned and bottled food before expiry dates.
5. On the off chance that you work in an office that has a canteen, you can check with them on how they manage excess food. Cooked food, particularly since it has a low time span of usability should be managed better and quicker. Check with NGOs who offer to transport excess food to the poor.

Additionally, if you have a family get together either at home, a marriage hall, or throw a party at a hotel, ensure you plan for the food to be shipped to a spot like an orphanage or an old age shelter.