HOW FOOD WASTE IS DEGRADING THE ENVIRONMENT
Did you toss your supper away because you were afraid of overeating, you were full, or the flavor didn’t appeal to you? Did you know that wasting food results in water waste and contributes to climate change?
Every year, almost 1.3 billion tonnes of food worth $1 trillion is wasted or lost. A third of all food produced annually is lost or squandered before it can be consumed, according to a World Food Programme (WEP) estimate.
Additionally, wasteful food production ranks third in the world behind the United States and China in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. All of these unconsumed goods contribute between 8% and 10% of the global carbon emissions. Statistics show that every year, food waste results in the emission of 3.3 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases (GHGs) equivalent to carbon dioxide.
Thinking About Water Waste
A quarter of our water use, or $172 billion in lost water, is accounted for by uneaten food waste.
The Food Waste Index Report 2021 from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that 17% of the food produced worldwide is lost or wasted. 61% of this waste is produced by homes, 26% by food service, and 13% by retail.
Food waste is irresponsible since it increases the amount of trash and strains the waste management system. Garbage is disposed of in landfills. On rare occasions, it also empties right into bodies of water.
It is common knowledge that consumer food is lost in production, storage, and transportation. But recently, food waste in households has increased significantly. All of this amounts to a waste of the resources needed to create food, including land, water, and energy.
It is crucial to keep in mind that by tossing away leftovers, you are not only wasting food for tomorrow’s dinner but also contributing to greenhouse gas emissions that occurred before the food even got to your plate. Global warming is impacted by food production, processing, packing, and transportation. Additionally, when it rots after being discarded, it continues to release greenhouse gases into the environment.
If food waste were a country, it would come in third behind the US and China in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, according to estimations from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
A third of all global greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to agriculture, and 30% of the food we produce — or around 1.8 billion tonnes — is wasted annually. Food waste accounts for 8% of global emissions, which would disappear if we as a planet stopped it entirely.
Naturally, not every home is at blame for this waste. A 2018 poll found that before reaching the store shelf, about a third of our fruit and vegetables are rejected due to their incorrect size or form. (Learn more about how the food chain is being changed to cut down on waste.)
Sustainability is Required
Global e-commerce is growing. Global e-retail sales in 2020 climbed by 27.6% over those in 2019, accounting for 18% of all retail transactions worldwide. Our highways are experiencing a rise in delivery vehicles as a result of the growth of e-commerce.
As consumers become more concerned about the environment, there is an increasing need for sustainable online business. 6,000 consumers in North America, Europe, and Asia were surveyed, and 72% of them said they were already actively buying more ecologically friendly products.
Due to the rise in GHG emissions from the e-commerce sector and the trend toward more environmentally friendly purchasing, greener solutions are required.
Ecommerce companies benefit from this in a number of ways, including improving their brand reputation, preparing for climate change policies, preserving industry rivalry, and attracting customers and employees. For this reason, it’s critical for eCommerce businesses to calculate the carbon footprint of both their shipping and other business processes.
A company or organization can gauge how big of an influence they are having on the environment by calculating their carbon footprint.
However, the techniques used to produce these estimates can vary significantly and typically only account for a small percentage of the factors that influence carbon emissions.
Cut Back on Carbon Footprint
A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases — like carbon dioxide and methane — that human activity produces.
The average carbon footprint of a person in the United States is 16 tons, one of the highest rates in the world. Around the world, the average carbon footprint is closer to 4 tons. To have the best chance of preventing a rise in global temperatures of 2°C, the average annual global carbon footprint must fall to < 2 tons by 2050.
It takes time to reduce each person’s carbon impact from 16 tons to 2 tons! By adopting little behavioral changes, like consuming less meat, taking fewer connecting flights, and line-drying our clothes, we can all affect change.
Starving Bellies
And as all of this is going on, hunger levels around the world are rising. A startling 690 million people, according to an FAO estimate, were hungry in 2019. All the food produced but never eaten could feed two billion people. What’s worse is that food loss and waste harm the global economy and cost it $936 billion a year.
In fact, there is sufficient food for everyone. The problem is that we waste it too much. Just consider the following WEP claims that consumers in developed countries waste almost as much food each year as is produced in sub-Saharan Africa.
Methods To Reduce
Creating national policies to prevent food waste is essential. Reduced food waste is critical for supermarkets. They must maintain the products’ safety and excellent quality. Technology must be used to monitor the storage temperatures of stored products.
The foundation for decreasing food waste is a sustainable, nutritious, and healthy food system. Eating healthfully, purchasing only what you require, and storing food properly should be the main principles.
Create a composting area since food waste can add nutrients to the soil and reduce your carbon footprint. Home composting may be possible to remove up to 150 kg of food waste per household annually from regional collection services, according to reports. Share or donate to food banks when you can.
Food waste is obviously a global problem that requires a worldwide solution. Governments must set priorities for minimizing food loss and waste, especially on farms, and implement legally binding goals for doing so.
Additionally, by just preparing what we truly need and reducing food waste, each of us can try to shop, cook, and eat more intelligently. We must ultimately reduce food loss and waste from farm to fork by at least halving it in order to aid in the fight against poverty and lessen the negative consequences of food production on the environment and climate.
