FOOD WASTAGE IN INDIA: �Problems & Proposed Solution
Submitted by:
Raja Mani Tripathi (10BB20A04014)
Karavadra Asha Adhur(10BB21J04007)
CSIR –CDRI, Lucknow
Societal Program / CSIR-800
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Introduction
According to FAO (Food and Agricultural Organisation) 40% of the food produced in India is wasted every year.
As per the Food Waste Index Report 2021, a staggering 50 kg of food is thrown away per person every year in Indian homes.
This excess food waste usually ends up in landfills, creating potent greenhouse gases which have dire environmental implications.
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.
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Proposed Solution
Calculated purchasing when buying groceries, minimising single-use packaging wherever possible, ordering consciously from restaurants, and reconsidering extravagant buffet spreads at weddings can go a long way.
At the community level, one can identify and get involved with organisations such as Coimbatore-based No Food Waste which aim to redistribute excess food to feed the needy and hungry.
A strong sense of judiciousness in how we consume our food is the next logical step. We must attempt to change our “food abundance” mindset to a “food scarcity” one, working our way towards a zero-waste end goal.
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Turn Wasted Food into Animal Feed: Cultivating compost is a method to recycle food, however it also can be drained of the bellies of cows, sheep, pigs, and alternative ethereal (themselves destined to become food).
Use Waste Food to provide Products: From biofuels to liquid fertilizer, there are several helpful merchandises that may be factory-made from bound styles of waste foods, and infrequently “leftovers” of one company might be helpful in another business for the food scrap.
Source Reduction and Food Donation: The easiest method to curtail waste matter is to easily turn out less whenever production is clearly resulting in waste. Once excess foodstuffs are still safe to eat, there will be hungry and poor people who realize it troublesome to afford decent food in today’s dear economy.