A richer man’s shampoo has more fruits than a poor man’s plate:
In our society food is enjoyment, an opportunity for creativity as people present it in so many ways, for expression and for variety. On the contrary, food is a primary necessity in many parts of the world due to an acute shortage of it, a necessity that is too rare for the hunt to be enjoyed.A line very well said, “A richer man’s shampoo has more fruits than a poor man’s plate has”. A point to ponder and a problem to be addressed on emergency basis. The contention is that huge amount of food is wasted from farm to fork. If we save this ‘waste’ then we reduce our footprint on the planet’s diminishing natural resources. Sounds good. But what should you and I do to be part of this global mission?We need to re-invent sustainable agriculture, so that it can meet the needs of millions, but does not cost us the Earth.Food wasteBulk of food is lost at the farm itself. It is wasted because farmers have to destroy food that they cannot sell or store. All this then implies that the only way ahead is to build infrastructure of cold storage and transportation along with value addition through processing of food. The logical action then is to incentivise large food processing industries to do this, all in the name of ‘saving the planet’. But this is where the problem starts, not ends. The problem with food is that it is no longer a matter of livelihood or nutrition for millions of people. It simply is a matter of business, business as to produce that much food as we need which ultimately will be a compromise over the quality and nutritional potential of it. The fact is that the agricultural model is failing because the cost of cultivation is high. It survives because of huge subsidies. It is fed huge amounts of chemicals, which, in turn, keeps the country on a toxic treadmill and keeps costs of regulation high. Worse, it thrives on the promotion of industrial food, which is kept cheap and is low on nutrition and so compromises on health.This is what we need to correct. The ultimate loser is the environment: where prices are depressed, natural resources are discounted, water and land is over-extracted and depleted. More than a matter of principle, wasting food is bad news for the planet. The energy that goes into producing excess food means more water is wasted, more carbon emissions are created, and more trash goes out into the world to farm, package, and ship food that is not being eaten.As we look for ways to save money on our household bills, many of us aren’t aware that food waste not only hits us in the pocket, but has a serious effect on the environment too. Producing, distributing, storing and cooking food uses energy, fuel and water and thus exhausting our resources. Each of these emits greenhouse gases contributing to climate change. Increase in agriculture means more land to be used and over extraction from nature means we would deplete our natural resources soon than their natural life.‘Save planet, save food’ is the slogan of many activists these days working for mother Earth. Farming, harvesting and consumption of food does not cost us anything if being with in sustainable limits. But they do cost us the Planet if go beyond them.ImpactsConsider the effects of food waste on the environment. Can it be that our kitchen garbage is causing climate change? Indirectly, yes. Food decomposing in landfills creates methane gas, which adds 20 times more than carbon dioxide to atmospheric gases. If you’ve followed analysis of climate change, you’ll know that these gases unleash a process that warms the Earth; the greenhouse effect. The NASA provides a list of dire consequences from the greenhouse effect. These include shorter but more severe winters; longer, hotter and drier summers; drought; more tropical storms; decreased agricultural production; more disease; and increased world hunger. StatisticsThe 2013 World Environment Day theme (June 5) was Think. Eat. Save. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), every year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted or lost. This volume of waste is more than the total net production of Sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, 1 in every 7 people in the world go to bed hungry and more than 20,000 children under the age of 5 die daily from hunger. Approximately 98% of the world’s hungry live in developing nations.Given this enormous imbalance in lifestyles and the resultant devastating effects on the environment, this year’s theme – Think. Eat. Save, encourages us to reduce our footprints. The idea is for us to become more aware of the environmental impact of the food choices we make and empower us to make informed decisions. While the planet is struggling to provide us with enough resources to sustain its 7 billion people (growing to 9 billion by 2050), FAO estimates that a third of global food production is either wasted or lost. Food waste is an enormous drain on natural resources and a contributor to negative environmental impacts.In fact, global food production uses 25% of all habitable land and is responsible for 70% of fresh water consumption, 80% of deforestation, and 30% of greenhouse gas emissions. It is the largest single driver of biodiversity loss and land-use change.Making informed decision means, for example, that one purposefully select foods that have less of an environmental impact, such as organic foods that do not use chemicals in the production process. Choosing to buy locally can also mean that foods are not flown halfway across the world and therefore limit emissions.
In our society food is enjoyment, an opportunity for creativity as people present it in so many ways, for expression and for variety. On the contrary, food is a primary necessity in many parts of the world due to an acute shortage of it, a necessity that is too rare for the hunt to be enjoyed.A line very well said, “A richer man’s shampoo has more fruits than a poor man’s plate has”. A point to ponder and a problem to be addressed on emergency basis. The contention is that huge amount of food is wasted from farm to fork. If we save this ‘waste’ then we reduce our footprint on the planet’s diminishing natural resources. Sounds good. But what should you and I do to be part of this global mission?We need to re-invent sustainable agriculture, so that it can meet the needs of millions, but does not cost us the Earth.Food wasteBulk of food is lost at the farm itself. It is wasted because farmers have to destroy food that they cannot sell or store. All this then implies that the only way ahead is to build infrastructure of cold storage and transportation along with value addition through processing of food. The logical action then is to incentivise large food processing industries to do this, all in the name of ‘saving the planet’. But this is where the problem starts, not ends. The problem with food is that it is no longer a matter of livelihood or nutrition for millions of people. It simply is a matter of business, business as to produce that much food as we need which ultimately will be a compromise over the quality and nutritional potential of it. The fact is that the agricultural model is failing because the cost of cultivation is high. It survives because of huge subsidies. It is fed huge amounts of chemicals, which, in turn, keeps the country on a toxic treadmill and keeps costs of regulation high. Worse, it thrives on the promotion of industrial food, which is kept cheap and is low on nutrition and so compromises on health.This is what we need to correct. The ultimate loser is the environment: where prices are depressed, natural resources are discounted, water and land is over-extracted and depleted. More than a matter of principle, wasting food is bad news for the planet. The energy that goes into producing excess food means more water is wasted, more carbon emissions are created, and more trash goes out into the world to farm, package, and ship food that is not being eaten.As we look for ways to save money on our household bills, many of us aren’t aware that food waste not only hits us in the pocket, but has a serious effect on the environment too. Producing, distributing, storing and cooking food uses energy, fuel and water and thus exhausting our resources. Each of these emits greenhouse gases contributing to climate change. Increase in agriculture means more land to be used and over extraction from nature means we would deplete our natural resources soon than their natural life.‘Save planet, save food’ is the slogan of many activists these days working for mother Earth. Farming, harvesting and consumption of food does not cost us anything if being with in sustainable limits. But they do cost us the Planet if go beyond them.ImpactsConsider the effects of food waste on the environment. Can it be that our kitchen garbage is causing climate change? Indirectly, yes. Food decomposing in landfills creates methane gas, which adds 20 times more than carbon dioxide to atmospheric gases. If you’ve followed analysis of climate change, you’ll know that these gases unleash a process that warms the Earth; the greenhouse effect. The NASA provides a list of dire consequences from the greenhouse effect. These include shorter but more severe winters; longer, hotter and drier summers; drought; more tropical storms; decreased agricultural production; more disease; and increased world hunger. StatisticsThe 2013 World Environment Day theme (June 5) was Think. Eat. Save. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), every year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted or lost. This volume of waste is more than the total net production of Sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, 1 in every 7 people in the world go to bed hungry and more than 20,000 children under the age of 5 die daily from hunger. Approximately 98% of the world’s hungry live in developing nations.Given this enormous imbalance in lifestyles and the resultant devastating effects on the environment, this year’s theme – Think. Eat. Save, encourages us to reduce our footprints. The idea is for us to become more aware of the environmental impact of the food choices we make and empower us to make informed decisions. While the planet is struggling to provide us with enough resources to sustain its 7 billion people (growing to 9 billion by 2050), FAO estimates that a third of global food production is either wasted or lost. Food waste is an enormous drain on natural resources and a contributor to negative environmental impacts.In fact, global food production uses 25% of all habitable land and is responsible for 70% of fresh water consumption, 80% of deforestation, and 30% of greenhouse gas emissions. It is the largest single driver of biodiversity loss and land-use change.Making informed decision means, for example, that one purposefully select foods that have less of an environmental impact, such as organic foods that do not use chemicals in the production process. Choosing to buy locally can also mean that foods are not flown halfway across the world and therefore limit emissions.
