Thursday, 20 October 2022 | Dr BKS Sanjay
Dr. BKS Sanjay
GUEST COLUMN
The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (IDAFLW) is observed on September 29. This year’s theme is “Stop Food Waste! For People and Planet”.It is a day to call to action for both the public and private sectors to prioritize actions and innovations to reduce food loss and waste in the worldto mitigate climate change, and support food security and nutrition.The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines food waste as “wholesome edible material intended for human consumption, arising at any point in the Food Supply Chain (FSC) that is instead discarded, lost or degrade”.
In 1903, Thomas Edison stated, ‘The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patient in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause of prevention of the disease. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled the maxim ‘Yatha Annam Tatha Mannam’ which means mental development is directly related to the quality of food.
India is the world’s second largest producer of rice, wheat, sugarcane, groundnut, vegetables and fruits as per the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States. However, according to the Food Security and Nutrition in the world 2022 report, 14 per cent (nearly 200 million) of India’s population is undernourished, 20 per cent of the Indian children are underweight and nearly 35 per cent of the children below 5 years in India are stunted. In contrast, according to the National Family Health Survey about 20 per cent people in UP are overweight.
An estimated 14 per cent of the world’s food is lost between harvest and retail, and an estimated 17 per cent is wasted in retail and at the consumption level. This comes at a time when 811 million people go hungry.All of this means there is an urgent need to accelerate action to reducefood loss and waste.The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) calls for halving per-capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food losses along production and supply chains.
Although India ranks second in the world in the agricultural sector, at the same time India stands 97th in Oxfam’s Food Availability Index, and 103rd in the 2018 Global Hunger Index. There has been a report in mass media that millions of tons of wheat are kept on the roads in open after the harvesting because there is not enough storage capacity in FCI warehouses. A country can be called self-sufficient only when it produces enough to meet its domestic needs. Every year in India, about 67 million tonnes of food is wasted, which has been estimated to be worth around Rs 92,000 crores. National capital Delhi produces about 9,000 metric tonnes of waste per day, with East Delhi being the largest landfill in the region.
People involved in the cooking especially in the celebration party like marriage parties cook the food on a hit and trial basis especially in rural and remote areas.People serve a lot more on their plates than they can eat. Recent trend of having the maid to cook the food is also a newly created household problem because the maid does not think in the same way as the master of the house thinks about the wastage. There is common practice in houses to cook more food than needed.
Food wastage is causing not only the social problems but economic and ecological problems. Nation is producing more food grains by draining more groundwater because of that the water level is going down creating the scarcity of water. Though we are producing more food grains for that we are using more fertilizers and pesticides which are proportionately contaminating the soil and water and creating many health and ecological issues. Food loss and wastage is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases. This is becoming the vicious cycle.
Food grains are not like the other natural resources like the stones and minerals. All food grains have an expiry date which is usually for a few days to a few months. Nowadays, grains like wheat, rice, pulses can be stored in a proper environment and warehouses for years. If it is not used in that stipulated period then it is going to be rotten or wasted. The wastage can be prevented if the raw or cooked food is sold or consumed at the right time at the same places.
In Indian circumstances the concept of weekly haat or bazaar for vegetables, fruits and other perishable items should be encouraged all over the country at a reasonable distance which will be profitable to both sellers and buyers. It will reduce the storage problem, wastage of perishable items, reduce the inflation and will give a boost to the economy of small and marginal farmers.There should be a provision of cold storage for vegetables and fruits at a reasonable cost and accessible distance. There should be a facility of fridge and deep freezer for both processed and cooked food at all food outlets irrespective of place and size.
One can understand the value of body weight to perform any physical work with a scientific formula,“force is directly proportional to mass”. As the body mass increases so does the individual’s force to do any work. In simple words, the output of physical work of the stunted person will be less than an average person.
Annam Vai Pranam means food is life. Improving the nutritional status of the citizens is imperative for nation building. The Poshan Abhiyan 2018-22 has set goals to reduce under nutrition, low birth weight and anemia across all age groups. India needs a mass movement for good nutrition in the country because nutrition is one of the three basic foundation stones (health, education and nutrition) for nation building.All citizens should do their end to achieve the goal“Stop Food Waste! For People and Planet”.
(A Padma Shri recipient, the author is an orthopaedic surgeon. Views expressed are personal)
