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Let’s stop the food waste

Albert Vilariño Alonso Follow
Jun 13 · 5 min read

Photo by Esther Wechsler on Unsplash

Although unfortunately there are still too many people who are hungry
around us, most of the inhabitants of the first world are accustomed to not
worry much about what to put in our mouths.

We have varied and abundant food at our reach and generally at an

affordable price.

Is so easy to get food that the large part of society is not really aware
of the food waste and do not see it as a serious problem to solve. And yes
it is a big problem.

Food is part of the first hierarchy of human needs in the Maslow pyramid,
the primordial calls, and reaching a coverage of these needs globally is
certainly not something simple, much less it will be in the near future with
the increase in the population of the planet that will bring natural systems
to the limit.

It is estimated that by 2050, food production will have to increase by

60% over 2005 levels to feed the growing world population.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) states
that “approximately one third of the edible parts of food produced for
human consumption are lost or wasted globally, equivalent to
approximately 1,300 million tons by year”.

This includes around 45% of all fruits and vegetables, 35% of fish and
shellfish, 30% of cereals, 20% of dairy products and 20% of meat.

All this means that 30% of the world’s agricultural land is used to
produce food that will eventually be wasted.

If the amount of food wasted around the world were reduced by only 25%,
there would be enough food to feed all the people who are undernourished,
according to the UN.

Some figures and percentages that are generally unknown by the general
public, and which are really worrying.

Where and why is food lost?

Food is wasted or lost in the different processes of the value chain such as
production, handling and storage, processing, distribution and sale, and
finally consumption.

But it is not lost in the same way according to whether we are in one
part of the world or another.

We can say that the more developed a country is, the closer to the
consumer’s hand the food is lost, while in less developed countries food is
lost in activities far from the consumer.

That is, in the first world, the processes of cultivation, production, handling
and processing are more developed than in less developed countries that
have significant losses of production in these processes.

And in the first world we waste food for simple and avoidable things
like buying more food that does not end up being eaten and it gets bad, for
ruling out the purchase of food that does not have aesthetic canons in line
with what we have gotten into the head that is a healthy and appetizing
food, to put a couple of examples dependent on the consumer.

In underdeveloped countries, they do not really care if the food has a better
or worse aesthetic aspect to consume it. Nor, due to the difficulties of
accessing it compared to the first world, do they let it get bad or throw it
away as happily as we do.

We must put our grain of sand to reduce this waste, all those things that are
in our hands beyond other causes related to agricultural, industrial and
other processes over which we have no control as individuals.

What e!ects does the food waste have?

Food waste impacts broadly in various areas, not just environmental ones
as one might think.

The first effect of all that we have already mentioned is related to the large
area of land worldwide that is dedicated to growing food that will not end
up in our stomachs.

An area of fertile land that is estimated to be greater than the one occupied
by China and that could be used for other activities or simply not be
exploited continuously with the deterioration that this may cause.

Another effect is the immense volume of water that is used to grow

those foods that will be wasted. It is estimated that between 25% and 30%
of the world’s fresh water is also wasted in these processes.

To get an idea, to generate a liter of milk you need about 1,000 liters of
water, and for a kilo of beef about 15,000 liters.

Another example of the effect of this type of waste is that which causes the
carbon footprint and, obviously, climate change.

It is estimated that the food that ends up being wasted generate emissions
of 3.3 trillion tons of greenhouse gases, representing the third emitter of
this type of gases among the activities carried out by man.

In addition, uneaten food ends up going to landfills where, when they

decompose, they generate gases such as methane, which aggravate the
situation even more.

These non-consumed foods also generate other waste, such as packaging,

often made with non-recyclable materials, and which often end up going to
landfills.

These packages also increase the water footprint and generated carbon, and
generate a pollution that ends up going to our food chain.

Last but not least, especially for people who are less aware of the
environment but with their pockets, are the economic consequences of
waste.

According to FAO, the associated economic losses are estimated at 750

billion dollars a year. For example, food waste would represent about 700
pounds per family per year in the United Kingdom, or about 2,300 dollars
per family per year in the United States.

What can be done to reduce this type

of waste?
The first action to not generate food that will be lost is to improve the
processes of collection, storage, processing and distribution, through the
development of more efficient technologies to the current ones.

On the other hand, restaurants, supermarkets and vendors can put on sale
at a reduced price those foods that do not meet aesthetic standards but are
completely suitable for consumption, instead of getting rid of them
and throwing them in the container.

The recycling of food that for whatever reason is not going to be

consumed is another option, although the technologies and methods still
need to be improved. For example, starchy foods can be recycled into high-
quality livestock feed.

We must not forget here to carry out the correct recycling of the
packaging materials in which the food may be contained.

For their part, companies and organizations can use the first protocol for
the calculation of food wastecreated by the World Resources Institute
(WRI) and through it improve their performance in that area, reducing
wasted food over time.

It can be used by entities of all types, sizes, geographic location and

economic sector, and is modular, so you can choose how far you go to
quantify the waste.

As consumers we can also use toolssuch as the one provided by the United
States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which includes some
actions that can be carried out by any of us.

These are some examples of things that can be done at different levels so
that the food ends up serving what it is produced for, that is, feeding
ourselves, and not to further mistreat our planet.

Maybe for now it will endure it, but at this rate, the day will come when the
Earth will not be able to give us food for everyone.

Environment Sustainability Food Food Waste

Albert Vilariño Alonso Follow

Consultant in Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability,
Reputation and Corporate Communication,and integration of people
with disabilities.

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