Food wastage

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  Food wastage

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• The story: Despite adequate food production, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has reported that about 190 million Indians remain undernourished. Moreover, it states that every third malnourished child is Indian. Ironically, the same report highlights that around 40% of the food produced in India is either lost or wasted. It is further estimated that the value of food wastage in India is around Rs. 92,000 crores per annum.
• Nature: This food wastage, however, isn’t limited to one level alone but perforates through every stage; from harvesting, processing, packaging, and transporting to the end stage of consumption. Though food wastage is a global problem, India stands a chance to convert this into an opportunity, if it can address it properly.
• Case Study: SAFAL Outlet: On average, 18.7 kgs of food was disposed off by one Safal outlet daily. This suggests that an estimated 7.5 tonnes of food are discarded daily across the 400 Safal outlets in Delhi. Approximately 84.7% of the total food waste recorded was thrown in the bin, while the rest was either fed to the poor or some animals. A significant portion of the food waste bin was still in edible condition. If the edible food waste generated by Safal is diverted, an estimated 2000 people could be fed daily.
• Challenge: 

1. Pre-Consumption losses - Nearly 40% of the food produced in India is wasted every year due to fragmented food systems and inefficient supply chains. This is the loss that occurs even before the food reaches the consumer. 
2. Food wastage in homes - There is also a significant amount of food waste generated in our homes. As per the Food Waste Index Report 2021, a staggering 50 kg of food is thrown away per person every year in Indian homes.
3. Greenhouse Gases emissions - This excess food waste usually ends up in landfills, creating potent greenhouse gases which have dire environmental implications.
4. Impact of pandemic - The Covid-19 pandemic not only exposed the problems of food waste but also compounded them. In the wake of the lockdown imposed last year, surplus stocks of grain — pegged at 65 lakh tonnes in the first four months of 2020 — continued to rot in godowns across India. Access to food became extremely scarce for the poor, especially daily-wage laborers.
5. Supply-chain management issues - Some problems in the Indian food supply chain include inefficiency of government programs, lack of transparency in revenue generation, insufficient storage facilities, and lack of comprehensive and accurate inventories.

• Summary: Food waste attributed to households and their irresponsible consumption patterns means that change needs to begin in our own homes. Calculated purchasing when buying groceries, minimizing single-use packaging wherever possible, ordering consciously from restaurants, and reconsidering extravagant buffet spreads at weddings can go a long way. Edible food should be made available every day, for free, at the latest in the last opening hour, so it can be picked up and consumed by those in need. The option of distribution through food banks can also be explored, as can tie-ups with private actors so that food can reach hunger hotspots. At the community level, one can identify and get involved with organizations such as Coimbatore-based No Food Waste which aims to redistribute excess food to feed the needy and hungry. In France, supermarkets prioritize the reduction, reuse, and recycling of extra food. It is important that technology is adopted at every stage of the supply chain to overcome this problem. Planning in the supply chain can improve with technology, reducing transit time in shipping and logistics. In addition, multiple government initiatives are also assisting in building infrastructure for the food industry.

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