FOOD WASTAGE
Food waste or food loss is food that is discarded or lost because it is not eaten. This can happen at any time during farming or production, processing, selling the food and eating the food.
WHY IS FOOD WASTAGE CONSIDERED AS A PROBLEM?
Food wastage is considered a problem because loss of food means resources like water, soil nutrition, investments are lost. Loss of food creates food scarcity. It means that poor people around the world are deprived of food, because the cost of available food increases.
HOW CAN I STOP FOOD WASTE?
India is a country in which many people do not have enough to eat. Around the world 5 million children die each year because of hunger and lack of enough food. In a world of plenty, a huge number go hungry. This is not because there is less food produced in the world but because those who have food have a lot of it and those who do not have nothing. Stop wasting food so that there is enough for everyone and your government can make it possible for all children to eat.
WHAT ARE THE WAYS YOU CAN STOP FOOD WASTAGE IN YOUR HOME?
1. Shop smartly. Buy only what you need and plan how long it is for. Make a list. Some food last longer like rice, pulses. And some only a short time, like fruits and vegetables, milk, bread.
2. When eating, don’t serve extra. Serve small portions. This way you can finish what you serve.
3. Although sometimes eating leftovers is not good, some food can be reserved, if they are good to eat.
4. Store food properly. This is helpful. Some foods, like rice, pulses and grains get spoilt if they are exposed to air for too long. They collect moisture and also become infected with insects. Use airtight containers, wrap, cover and keep.
5. Check your fridge and cupboards for food stored. Use the foods with an expiry date coming before the date, so you don’t have to throw it away.
6. Sometimes if you are going out of town, you may want to donate the food or give the food away.
7. Making pickles and jams are a good way to keep food for a longer time and yummy to eat.
IMPORTANCE OF FOOD MANAGEMENT
"ANNAM PARABRAHMASWAROOPAM," says our Indian philosophy. This means that food is equal to God as told by our great ancient philosopher. But we, their descendants, are we giving the same amount of respect to this age-old God? Frankly, most of us do not. Result: Millions of human beings are dying in hunger when millions of tons of food is being thrown away, wasted, discarded, whatever
According to a report of the World Food Organization, every seventh person is hungry in the world. As for India, it ranks 100 in the Global Hunger Index among 119 countries. Unfortunately, deaths from hunger take place in the country where many schemes of food and nutrition security are regularly run on a grant of billions of rupees. Under the mid-day meal schemes, about 12 million children are claimed to be fed meals every day. Crores of government funds are spent in the name of providing food and employment to every person. Still, as per the United Nations data, about 10 lakh children die before reaching the age of five due to hunger or malnutrition every year in the country. As many as 4.08 lakh families eke out their living by rag-picking and 6.68 lakhs of families survive on begging. The average monthly income of 39.39 percent of the household living in the village is less than Rs. 10,000, and around 51.14 percent of households survive on temporary wages as they have no regular source of income.
On the one hand, billions of people go hungry, on the other, tons of food is wasted every day. Even as 194 million sleeps on empty stomach every day in our country, India wastes about Rs. 88,800 crore worth of food per year; it amounts to Rs. 244 crore worth of food a day.
HOW DO WE WASTE FOOD?
About 21 million tons of grain is wasted only because we do not have adequate storage facilities to keep it. According to a report by the Indian Institute of Public Administration, in India every year 23 million tons of pulses, 12 million tons of fruits and 21 million tons of vegetables get spoiled due to flaws in the distribution system.
WHY DO WE WASTE FOOD?
In Indian culture, it is considered a bad habit to leave unfinished food in the plate. Generally, we try in our homes that the waste of food in the form of leftover should be minimized, but surprisingly when we are attending some marriage or party, we forget all this. The waste of food in city parties has become a common occurrence. It has increased even more after the start of the buffet system. Due to the present period of competition and ostentation, the number of recipes served in the banquet has increased with the guests filling their plates with the stuff, which is too much for them to consume.
WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR FOOD WASTE?
The waste and rot food items that thrown around the houses cause trouble to those who live there. Many times, animal deaths are reported due to the rotting food.
According to traders associated with tents and catering businesses, there are about 300-400 marriages in cities in 30-40 auspicious days throughout the year. About 20 to 25 per cent of food is wasted in weddings. The ordering party has to decide what to do with food. In such cases, vegetables are thrown away, while the soon-to-decay food is distributed elsewhere.
WAYS TO REDUCE FOOD WASTE:
Following are some ways through which we can contribute stopping food waste that has become a formidable challenge:
• STRENGTHENING STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION
Food grains to the tune of 25.1 crore tons are produced in the country every year, but every fourth Indian remains hungry. On an average, every Indian waste six to eleven kg of food in a year. The amount of food we waste in a year is equivalent to the cost of several hundred cold storages which can save fruit and vegetables from the decay. Five thousand warehouses can be made in rural areas if we can save paddy and wheat procured by the government that is destroyed lying uncared for in the open. At the Panchayat level, if there is adherence to the contingency storage and distribution of one quintal grain to the needy then at least no one will die of hunger.
• PROACTIVE POLICIES
Due to increase in the prices of raw material, the cost of food has increased. According to middle class yardsticks, the estimated cost per person or per plate has now increased to Rs 300 to 400. Due to food waste, loss of Rs 1.5 lakh to 2.00 lakh takes place per wedding. It implies that 300 to 400 people can be fed good food, if we can stop this waste.
The Indian government is very much concerned about the waste of food in weddings. In 2011, the Food Ministry said that it was considering limiting the number of dishes served in the weddings as well as the number of guests. In this context, Displays and Wasteful Expenses (Repeal) Act, 2006 has also been enacted. However, there is need to enforce this law strictly.
• BE A SMART HOMEMAKER
Plan ahead for the entire week’s ration and make purchases accordingly. Do not buy anything more than you need. Make a list of your menu, otherwise the possibility of food getting wasted increases. Before making the food i.e., before lunch and dinner, think about what dish to make and how much. Try to make only that much food as can be consumed in one day. You might buy paneer and not use it for that week, then it will naturally get spoiled and you will have to throw it. It is better that you buy only the quantity that is sufficient for a few days. Check the fridge at the time of going to the market to find out what items are there in the house and what need to be bought. Learn how to keep dry food properly. Always keep items such as flour, lentils and rice in the air tight compartment so that none of it goes waste. Sometimes due to negligence, such items get spoiled and you unconsciously become guilty of food waste.
• DO NOT OVERSHOP
You tend to think that by buying all the ingredients at once, you will be able to prepare anything whenever you want, that means you will get rid of the hassle of buying commodities every day. But this way, you buy a lot of unnecessary things, which increases the possibility of food waste. That’s why you should always buy goods in small quantities. There is no point in putting a stack of items in the fridge and cupboard.
Prepare the list of goods before going for grocery shopping. This will help you know what to buy and what not to buy at the time of purchase. By not doing this, you may often forget the stuff for which you have gone and they pick up which you do not even need at the moment.
Take advantage of the delivery service of the shopping store. You may feel lazy to go shopping every second-fourth day, so, you like to get one week’s ration and other goods together in one round. But instead of doing so, if you get daily supplies from the store’s delivery service, you will save money and there will be no waste of food at the end of the week.
• USE THE REFRIGERATOR SMARTLY
Many times, we forget to keep things in the fridge because we do not see them in front of us. So, things get stale. To prevent this, it is necessary that you clean your refrigerator every three to four days. Thus, whatever you put in it will be clearly seen and you will consume it. This will not spoil anything available with you.
Always keep an eye that fresh food, i.e., fruits, vegetables, meat and milk are kept in the fridge, as keeping them outside for long will ruin them and your money will also be lost. There are some food items that you can keep for months; you just need to store them rightly. For example, items like tomato ketchup, butter, milk maid etc. can be kept in the fridge for a longer time.
Eat the rice kept in the fridge when it again acquires normal temperature and do not heat it again. Keep food in the fridge within four hours of cooking in case you don’t want to consume immediately.
You can mix a little bit of salt to keep the milk last for longer days. After bringing the dry fruits home, roast them dry and store them in the fridge. Their flavour will not spoil and they will be useful for longer days.
• SERVE AS PER NEED
Serve as much as the person can eat. After serving more than necessary, we often have to throw away the remaining food in the litter bin. Sometimes food is wasted while feeding babies, avoid it too.
• LABEL THE REMAINING FOOD
On the remaining food, you can label the maximum number of days to finish. Apart from this, you can make a new recipe out of the old food to utilise it fully.
• ENHANCE LIFE OF FOOD
There is a certain temperature suitable for consumption of everything. After keeping it at this temperature it is better to eat food for the next eight hours. Understand that bacteria are more likely to grow in the cooked food than the raw food.
• DEVELOP GOOD HABITS
We must develop a habit from the beginning – to take as much food in our plate as can satisfy our hunger. To prevent food waste, we need to go back to our philosophy and traditions. One of them is eating together and sharing food with each other as per everyone’s need.
With increasing prevalence of urban culture, there is a need to limit the number of recipes in a public function. Think, Eat, Save. campaign of the United Nations Environment Program is also a good initiative, which can help us prevent food wastage.
We need to take a relook at our thinking and habits. Religious leaders and voluntary organizations should also take the initiative in this direction. All of us have to generate social consciousness for this; only then this wasteful tendency can be curbed.
• CHECK THE EXPIRATION DATE
There are some foods like butter, some cheeses, milk, chocolate, eggs and yogurt that can be consumed a few days after their expiration date. There is no better technique to discover if a food is in good condition than to smell it, observe it and taste it.
• COOKING JUST AND NOT OVER
Try not to cook more of the amount you are going to consume or store, because the food may break down without you noticing and you should throw it away. It is important to cook for each meal, so you avoid waste.
CONCLUSION:
The ill effects of food waste are adversely affecting the natural resources of our country. We are battling water scarcity but 230 cusecs of water is wasted to generate the unutilised food, which can quench the thirst of ten million people. According to an estimate, the amount of money that is lost due to wastage can be spent in improving the life conditions of 5 crore children. They can receive better education after overcoming malnutrition. Forty million people can be freed from the clutches of poverty and 50 million people can be guaranteed food security. However, food waste is a global phenomenon. One third of the food that is produced every year around the world, i.e., approximately 1.3 billion tons gets wasted. The lost food is so much that it can feed billions of people. The World Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Agricultural Development Fund and the World Food Program are doing their bit to help the world save food. But each one of us needs to make our contribution in saving the colossal waste of food to free the world from hunger. Gandhiji once told that if God were to appear to the millions of hungry people, it would be in the form of food. So, please don't waste food.
AN ESSAY/SPEECH ON FOOD WASTAGE PDF:
Tags:
ESSAYS