1. 34
Wasting All That Food
Why We Should Care
Think.Eat.Save. The people behind World Environment Day this year have most certainly
deliberately left out the spaces between the words. Perhaps so that we make the connection
between our food choices and the larger impacts of these choices—and realize that the
connection is too close for comfort and also too close to keep ignoring.
F
or a moment, let’s not ask why the food
was wasted in the first place. Or how many
hungry mouths the wasted food could have
fed. Let’s only be bothered about what
happens when the wasted food is thrown
away.
Well, it breaks down in landfill, together with
other organic materials, and becomes the main
contributor to the generation of methane – a powerful
greenhouse gas nearly 25 times stronger than carbon
dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. This
process of global warming is not invisible or abstract.
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2. CONSUMER VOICE JUNE 2013 35
Further, the breakdown of food waste in landfills
releases nutrients, which can migrate out of the
waste and into the surrounding environment. Too
many nutrients can pollute our groundwater and
waterways.
Next, let’s consider the food production lifecycle, or
supply chain. Soils, water, natural resources and energy
are used to plant, harvest, transport, process, package,
distribute and market our food products. When food is
wasted, all of these resources are lost—but not without
contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. This includes
direct emissions from agriculture and those attributed
to energy, transport, food production, processing
and distribution. In particular, consider the cost of
transporting food from farm to processor, wholesaler
to restaurant, store to households – and finally, from
garbage bins to landfills.
The Numbers Are Innocent – We Are Not
The numbers in the public archive on how much
food is wasted globally on an annual basis are capable
of inducing anything from a grimace to a jaw drop, to
sarcasm even. Many of us may even find the scenario
surreal, especially when the numbers are presented in
relative terms – for example, every year, consumers
in rich countries waste almost as much food (222
million tonnes) as the entire net food production of
sub-Saharan Africa (230 million tonnes).
FOOD WASTE
That said, numbers ought to make one wary too,
for these are inherently distant, clinical, unreal even.
One may be lulled into a false sense of security or into
a convenient space of feeling oneself to be ‘too small
to make a difference’.
Indeed, what about those oft-felt sentiments
of ‘what am I but a speck of sand in this vastness’
and ‘what difference in the universe’s name will
my standalone action make?’ Or, if one wants to
appear particular, put it on the government. It’s their
responsibility, right?
Well, not quite so. For one, the government does
not make our shopping list. Secondly, we do tend to
throw a lot of good food that is still edible because of
overstocking, cosmetic blemishes, misinformation, or
plain ignorance if not indifference.
Gobbling down the Numbers
• The irrigation water used globally to grow
food that is wasted would be enough for the
domestic needs (at 200 litres per person per
day) of 9 billion people – the number expected
on the planet by 2050.
• If we planted trees on land currently used to
grow unnecessary surplus and wasted food, this
would offset a theoretical maximum of 100 per
cent of greenhouse gas emissions from fossil
fuel combustion.
• Between 2 and 500 times more carbon dioxide
can be saved by feeding food waste to pigs
rather than sending it for anaerobic digestion
(the UK government's preferred option). But
under European laws feeding food waste to pigs
is banned. In Japan, South Korea and Taiwan,
by contrast, it is mandatory to feed some food
waste to pigs.
• The UK, US and Europe have nearly twice as
much food as is required by the nutritional needs
of their populations. Up to half the entire food
supply is wasted between the farm and the fork.
• All the world’s nearly one billion hungry people
could be lifted out of malnourishment on less
than a quarter of the food that is wasted in the
US, UK and Europe.
• An estimated 20 per cent to 40 per cent of
fruits and vegetables in the UK are rejected
even before they reach the shops – mostly
because they do not match the supermarkets'
excessively strict cosmetic standards.
• The bread and other cereal products thrown
away in UK households alone would have been
enough to lift 30 million of the world's hungry
people out of malnourishment
AllpointsarefromTristramStuart'sWaste:Uncovering
the Global Food Scandal (Penguin, 2009)

3. 36
The Action Begins at Home
Food waste can be minimized at home, in retail
stores, and in restaurants. For example, grocery chains
can mitigate wasting food by sorting out the spoiled
food by separating it for organic usage. Furthermore,
packaging foods in smaller quantities can eliminate or
at least shorten food waste.
As consumers, when we begin to understand that
food waste is something within our control—and
not as intimidating as acting against the ozone layer
depletion—we can simply begin by disciplining
aspects of our purchase, consumption and disposal
habits. To start with, why not simply buy less? Buying
in smaller quantities means that we will most likely at
least finish eating the food and throw out less.
It follows that the process of packaging food
differently can save money and waste not only for the
consumer but the producer as well, and even more
importantly, this process is environment-friendly.
For the producer, the gains accrue in terms of less
transporting and storage costs.
Studies (including Global Food Losses and Food
Waste – FAO, 2011) have shown that in developing
countries food waste and losses occur mainly at early
stages of the food value chain and can be traced back
to financial, managerial and technical constraints in
harvesting techniques as well as storage and cooling
facilities. Thus, a strengthening of the supply chain
through support to farmers and investments in
Write a list
Check the ingredients in the cupboards and the
refrigerator prior to writing the shopping list.
This way we could avoid buying extra stuff. How
often does the homemaker feel surprise/regret on
noticing that the earlier packet of besan/ flour is
almost crossing the ‘use by’ dates?
Also, check perishable items at home before
buying again. Don’t let a spotty soft banana,
bruised apple, or dry bread go into the bin.
Write a kitchen diary
Maintain a kitchen diary that shows how much
food moves uneaten into the garbage bin.
Beauty fixation
Supermarketsarefoundtoberesponsibleforhuge
amounts of food wastages due to their emphasis
on cosmetic appearance of food products.
Their criterion for rejecting products from
suppliers on grounds of appearance of produce
promotes chemical-intensive farming among
farmers, which has adverse environmental and
health effects in addition to being financially
unattractive.
Rotate
Another good idea – especially if you stock
processed food in big refrigerators – is to rotate
the stuff once in a while to bring out the
perishable packets to the front while placing
the recent food towards the back.
infrastructure and transportation could help to reduce
the amount of food loss and waste.
In medium- and high-income countries, on the
other hand, food is wasted and lost mainly at later
stagesinthesupplychain.Thebehaviourofconsumers
plays a huge part in industrialized countries. The
website of United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) quotes a recent study that has revealed that
worldwide about one-third of all food produced gets
lost or wasted in the food production and consumption
systems – and that almost half of this quantity is the
result of retailers and consumers in industrialized
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4. CONSUMER VOICE JUNE 2013 37
regions discarding food that is fit for consumption.
Raising awareness among industries, retailers and
consumers as well as finding beneficial uses for food
that is presently thrown away are useful measures to
decrease the amount of losses and waste.
The Consumption Value Chain
However, the rest of us can hardly afford to feel
sanctimonious or be complacent by putting all blame
and responsibility at the door of the rich countries.
As emerging economies like India come up the value
chain, it may be safely assumed that their increasingly
larger numbers of prosperous middle classes and the
rich/super-rich will start showing behaviour similar to
their counterparts in industrialized countries.
Statistics on how many tonnes of quality food are
wasted in restaurants, make-shift food joints, social
gatherings and households remind us that food waste
is happening all around us. In 2011, India’s Food
Quick Action Plan: Easier than I Thought
a) Buy what I need
• Plan
• Make a list
• Be realistic about how much I need
• Resist temptation to overbuy something
that’s on sale
b) Eat what I buy
• Use what spoils first
• Not to prepare too much
• Eat leftovers
c) Keep them fresh
• Store foods to keep them fresh as long as
possible
d) Not to toss it before it spoils
• Be aware of food-expiration dates
• Understand shelf-life limits
• Use preservation methods: freezing, canning,
drying, pickling, etc.
e) Not to think trash
• Share extra food before it spoils
• Compost inedible food
Prevent storage losses if any
When grains and pulses are purchased in
large quantities, keep a tablet of insect/weevil
repellentsinthecontainer.Productssuchassooji
and dalia when stored for a longer period can be
roasted lightly to prevent weevil infestation.
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5. 38
Make compost
As much as 30 per cent of household waste can
be diverted away from garbage when composting
is done at home. Table scraps, fruit and vegetable
scraps, crushed egg shells, tea leaves, stalks and
coffee grounds are some of the materials that are
good for making compost.
It is not difficult to make compost at homes. All
that is required is a large drum or tin to hold the
soil and the scraps together for decomposition
to happen. You may take help from garden
associations or look for information on the
Internet.
Minister KV Thomas had
said that around 100,000
weddings and social events
were held in the country
every day. He remarked
that food wasted each day
at weddings and family
functions in Mumbai alone
would be enough to feed the
city’s vast slum population.
Where Is the Linkage?
It is true that people
cannot be forced to cut back
on wasteful displays of food
and spending, but if there is
a way to get them thinking
about the enormous amounts
of food that get wasted, it
will at least be a beginning.
Concurrent with that must
be the facilitation of system
linkages including food
waste collection services and
observance of best practices
in diverting the waste food to its best use – for instance,
whether it will go towards feeding the hungry or be
used as animal feed or nutrient-rich compost. There
are also options to convert fats, oils, and grease (FOG)
to biodiesel, replacing fossil fuel use.
So far, efforts to pick up the leftovers and distribute
them to the poor have not taken off in India due to
lack of infrastructure. Many of us would think that
there would be NGOs to provide a linkage between
What Is a Food Bank?
A food bank is a nonprofit distribution
enterprise that serves the community through
institutional feeding programmes. This acquires
donated food in the form of grains, pulses, oil,
spices, etc., sourced on the basis of community
food habits and makes these available through a
network of community-owned agencies. These
institutional feeding programmes include school
feeding programmes, after-school programmes,
shelter homes, old-age homes and substance
abuse clinics.
Keep an eye on the serving portion
Be wary of the quantity of food that goes onto
the plate. Cultivate the habit of refilling only
when the plate is cleared. Do not overestimate
and tend to be generous what the guests and
children can have at a time. By this, one can
discourage children form overeating too.
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6. CONSUMER VOICE JUNE 2013 39
For the family pet
Stop buying processed dog food. It is a
common practice among households to prepare
the exact amount of chapattis/rice. Use the
surplus from your chapattis/rice along with
meat/eggs/milk/vegetables to give your pet a
wholesome meal rather than the dry processed
meal. It does not take much time to prepare a
simple meal. Moreover; the packaged meal is not
bombarded with extra goodness as it purports to
be and saves money too.
Expect the waste
Whenever we are planning a wedding, a
party, or some such similar gathering, some
amount of surplus food is inevitable. Suppose we
plan ahead by identifying the needy in nearby
areas for distributing the excess food? Would
not that be a practical, engaging and effective
way of participating in the food drive?
We were informed that the infrastructure for
collecting and distributing the food was being
developed in cooperation with Delhi Government,
DLF Foundation, Reliance Foundation and Cargill
India. Donors of food only needed to send an sms
to 58888, following which IFBN volunteers would
collect the food items, while those who needed food
could also send sms to same number.
As of today, Delhi Food Bank collects only non-
perishables, not cooked food. The latter requires
infrastructure like refrigeration, especially when the
calls are received past the meal times. Furthermore,
organizations are looking for regular and sustainable
supply of excess food.
Waste As Opportunity
Waste represents both a problem and an
opportunity. At current levels, production,
consumption and waste disposal patterns are not in
sync with sustainable living. To drastically reduce
waste generation, we need to make products with
fewer natural resources and also break the link
between economic growth and waste growth. Most
products should be reused or their materials recycled.
The benefit of being at the minimal level of the
waste hierarchy will not just be environmental. Waste
is a drag on the economy. We can save money by
making products with fewer natural resources, and we
can reduce the costs of waste treatment and disposal.
– Consumer Voice Bureau
Responding to queries from Lakshmi Bhavani
of Consumer Voice, Kuldip Nar, Managing
Director, Aidmatrix Foundation (IFBN member
responsible for operationalizing Delhi Food
Bank), sent in his comments via email:
‘Non-perishable food waste is the focus of the
Delhi Food Bank initiative and we are presently
feeding 10,000 meals daily with the salvaging
and donation of food, which helps those who
need it the most.
For perishable food including agriculture
produce or cooked food, there can be a system
that can salvage and guarantee the minimum
food amounts for a nutritional food plate. This,
in turn, will help provide the guaranteed feeding
that is required on a daily basis as a process.’
giver and needy ones. In India, though, practically no
such NGO exists to pick up the surplus at all times.
So, what happened to Delhi Food Bank, launched
as part of the India Food Banking Network (IFBN)
with much fanfare in 2012 by Delhi Chief Minister
Sheila Dikshit and Sam Pitorda, Advisor to the
Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure
and Innovations? Delhi was to be the first city in the
country to set up food banks through which excess
cooked and uncooked food would be collected from
wedding receptions, parties, social functions, hotels
and individual donors for distribution among hungry
and poor people.
Theschemewasmodelledonthelinesoffoodbanks
in Chicago in the United States where community
groups ran them to feed hungry people by collecting
excess food from hotels and wedding receptions, and
through voluntary donations from individuals as well
as various organizations. In fact, Delhi Food Bank was
planned to be the prototype that IFBN would seek to
modify, strengthen and replicate at a national level,
so that by 2020 every district of India had access to a
food bank.
FOOD WASTE