Excerpts from a News article in 2013 (Times of India):
India stands out for its glaring lack of infrastructure and food storage facilities, in a new study that says 21 million tonnes of wheat -- equivalent to the entire production of Australia -- goes waste in the country.
The report by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME) on global food wastage found that as much as 50 per cent of all food produced around the world never reaches a human mouth.
"Considerably greater levels of tonnage loss exist in larger developing nations, such as India for example, where about 21 million tonnes of wheat annually perishes due to inadequate storage and distribution, equivalent to the entire production of Australia," said the 'Global Food Waste Not Want Not' report, released here on Thursday.
"In neighbouring Pakistan, losses amount to about 16 per cent of production, or 3.2 million tonnes annually, where inadequate storage infrastructure leads to widespread rodent infestation problems," it said.
Overall, wastage rates in vegetables and fruit are even higher than for grains.
At least 40 per cent of all fruit and vegetable is lost in India between the grower and consumer due to lack of refrigerated transport, poor roads, inclement weather and corruption.
According to the latest survey, wastage tends to move up the distribution chain as the standard of development improves and regional and national transport, storage and distribution facilities fail to match the improvements made at the farm level.
This is a particular issue in India, which requires massive investments in the food logistics chain.
"Controlling and reducing the level of wastage is frequently beyond the capability of the individual farmer, distributor or consumer, since it depends on market philosophies, security of power supply, quality of roads and the presence or absence of transport hubs.
"These are all related more to societal, political and economic norms, as well as engineered infrastructure, rather than to agriculture," the authors of the report said, calling on governments in the developing world to introduce better technology and food storage facilities.
The Indian government has maintained that the recent reforms in the retail sector approved by Parliament, allowing 51 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail and 100 per cent FDI in the single-brand segment, will lead to increased investments in infrastructure and improve the logistics chain.
Your comments on strategies for controlling and reducing the global food wastage are most welcome! - Sundar
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-wastes-21-million-tonnes-of-wheat-every-year-Report/articleshow/17969340.cms
Prevention of postharvest loss is increasingly cited as a means to effectively contribute to available food supplies
Without adequate infrastructure to store and transport crops, enormous amounts of food are lost on the way from farms to consumers’ tables
http://www.ripublication.com/ijafst_spl/ijafstv4n3spl_04.pdf
If phosphor is a limiting resource in food production, how much phosphor is lost at a long-term basis because of food wastage?
A few facts from UNEP
http://www.unep.org/wed/2013/quickfacts/
http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/the-big-footprint-of-food-waste
Prevention of postharvest loss is increasingly cited as a means to effectively contribute to available food supplies
Without adequate infrastructure to store and transport crops, enormous amounts of food are lost on the way from farms to consumers’ tables
http://www.ripublication.com/ijafst_spl/ijafstv4n3spl_04.pdf
Dear Sundarapandian Vaidyanathan, It is really a very important question for Global Food Sustaibility. You have very well cited the global losses. In India we have to see the new policies FDI etc which may improve infrastructure and cold chain or refrigerated transport facility
At present some intense strategy is required to control the post harvest losses. It is a national crime we can't afford it. Thanks
As the world population is growing at a fast rate, all countries must take great care in improving food storage and avoiding any wastage of food.
Wasting food means losing not only life-supporting nutrition but also precious resources, including land, water and energy. As a global society therefore, tackling food waste will help contribute towards addressing a number of key resource issues. Improving produce handling in the harvest, and immediate post-harvest stages of food production; discouraging retailers from wasteful practices that lead to the rejection of food on the basis of cosmetic characteristics, and losses at domestic level due to excessive purchasing by consumers and minimising wastage through better transport infrastructure and storage facilities are some of the ways to control and reduce food wastage at the levels of production, marketing and consumption.
Dear Colleagues,
Good Day,
Why is food wasted?
There are many explanations for food being wasted; these differ between sectors of the food chain. Standardized data on food wastage are lacking, particularly in the manufacture and retail sectors. Agricultural food waste also deserves further research. Most wastage in manufacturing is apparently unavoidable; much waste is inedible or results from technical issues that lead to overproduction, misshapen or damaged items. Wholesalers and retailers face logistical challenges, including stock management: anticipating demand and correct storage, meeting product quality expectations, and coordination between sectors.
Regarding household and catering kitchens, the main explanations for throwing out food (avoidable waste) are because it was left on plates, left over from cooking, or not used in time. Here, waste relates to individuals’ awareness and attitudes, and practical food management skills such as planning, portioning and storage. Household causes of waste may vary with regional factors including climate, socio-economic status or culture, for example, the custom to generously prepare more food than can be eaten and to have food leftover. Further country-level research is recommended to help target prevention.
Date-marks on food labels are one of the most important pieces of information reportedly sought by European consumers. Consumer research (UK and Ireland) highlights confusion over date-labeling: about a third of food is discarded before the ‘best before’ date. Storage practices also show room for improvement. Most fruit and vegetables will keep longer when refrigerated. However, only 23% of consumers said they would store fresh fruit, and 53% fresh vegetables, in the fridge. Many would leave foods ‘unsealed’ or loose, open to the atmosphere, which could reduce freshness (in contrast, bread stales quicker in the fridge).
Please, see those interesting links and articles.
http://greatist.com/health/how-to-ways-reduce-food-waste
http://www.eufic.org/article/en/artid/How-to-minimise-food-waste/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_waste
Dear Sundarapandian,
Food, most especially fresh food is wasted because fresh food cannot be handled in the same manor as a bath tub. The supply chain has been mentioned is simply not appropriate to the shipping needs of fresh produce to the market place. Take for instance today a farmer is harvesting his crop a week to as many as 21 days early in order to get the crop into supermarket shelves before it "looks" to ripe. I am no scholar on what those 21 days means to the produce but I do know mother nature intended for the fruits or vegetables to be on the vine for those day's. Until we imagine a delivery system designed solely for fresh produce we will never be able to put a dent into the wasted produce as currently transported.
Wast in the manufacturing namely canneries is as good as it is going to get given the conditions as Hazim Hashim has described in detail.
This brings us to the great sin globally. The over cooking (volume but some do overcook)and the need to provide an abundance of food so that it can never be eaten by the guests or Sunday dinner with the family. This is from my perspective the most tell tail sing or our lack of empathy, caring, even thinking about others. It shows how callused we have become toward our human brothers and sisters who live hungry each and everyday. To cook this amount of food knowing that it will never be able to be consumed before it gets thrown out for what ever reason is just appalling to me.
I am sorry but I do not care if its a custom or tradition or what ever the reason it shows how even "culture" or "giving thanks" has become so blinded to the fact that just in the U.S. 31 million children were served free or reduced meals in the school lunch program. Of those 31 million students 90% of them also qualified for the hot breakfast program. This program has been in existence sense 1936!!!!
In the end however, healthy food from my point of view is a human right and it needs to treated like such. This means thinking about the issues in wast in a whole direction, focus and urgency. The idea that the amount of wasted food could provide as many as two healthy meals for almost every man women and child who will go the entire day most likely with a very small meal once during the day is just not good enough.
It simply is just not good enough!
Douglas
Of all the available solutions to address food waste, changing our eating habits seems to hold the most promise. By simply eating certain foods and avoiding others, we can cut down on a significant amount of waste.
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