DNA Special: 10% of world population goes to bed hungry at night, 250 million tons of food is wasted every year

On 29th September, the whole world will celebrate International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste. On this day, people will be made aware to stop wastage of food items. This awareness campaign has been going on for the last 3 years. But people have a bad habit of leaving food on the plate. Such people take more food in a restaurant, or at home, eat less and throw away the remaining food. 

Condition of the whole world regarding hunger

10 percent of the world's people go to bed hungry every night. That is, about 83 crore people do not have food. But despite this, 250 million tonnes of food is wasted every year all over the world. The situation in India is worse in terms of wastage of food items. According to the National Health Survey, 190 million people in India go to bed hungry every night. Because of this there is no shortage of food, but its wastage. 40 percent of the country's food production is wasted every year.

Do you know what is the cost of food that is wasted in the country? Rs 92,000 crore annually.

If we assume that a person in India eats worth Rs 50 per day, food of more than 5 crore people of the country gets wasted in a year. Even if we only stop this wastage of food, about 5 crore people of the country will not go to bed hungry. India's ranking is 101 in the Hunger Index 2021 survey conducted in 116 countries.

A survey was conducted in Delhi on the wastage of food items. This survey was done at one of the major vegetable and fruit supply outlets in Delhi itself. It was found that in Delhi only 18.7 kg of waste is generated from one shop of this fruit and vegetable supply outlet. The survey revealed that around 7.5 tonnes of foot waste is generated from 400 outlets of this food supply chain. If this waste is stopped, then the stomachs of about 2 thousand people can be filled daily.

A report by the United Nation Environment Program (UNEP) states that more than 93 million tonnes of food was wasted before the Coronavirus period all over the world. 17 percent of the world's food and drink were spoiled. According to the UNEP report, common households accounted for 61 percent of the food wasted in the world. Restaurants providing food service account for 23 percent of the food wastage and 13 percent of the food was wasted in the retail chain.

If we make a ranking of such countries in the world, where the most food is wasted, the 2 countries with more population are China and India at the top. China is at number one in this list. Here more than 9.16 million tonnes of food is wasted every year. Similarly, 6 crore 87 lakh tonnes of food is wasted annually in India. America is at number three in this list, where 1 crore 93 lakh tonnes of food is wasted.

As far as food wastage is concerned, Australia is the country where citizens waste the most food. On average, every citizen in Australia wastes 102 kilograms of food a year.Australia has a small population, so it is at the bottom of the ranking of countries that waste food. But in terms of per capita wastage is up. Citizens of France, in terms of per capita, are second in terms of wasting food. Every French citizen wastes 85 kilograms of food in a year. Spain and the United Kingdom are at number three in this list, whose citizens waste 77 kg of food every year.

That is to say, if we measure the wastage of food according to the citizens, then the citizens of developed countries waste more food. So there is more need for developed countries to learn. There are two types of people in the world, who enjoy great cuisine in a restaurant, they eat to their fullest, not to the fullest. But there are those whose mind is focused only on getting enough food. 

How to stop wastage of food

The first condition to stop wastage of food is how much to take in the plate. Ayurveda states that a person should eat 20 to 30 percent less than what he is hungry for. That is, eating a full meal means eating a little less. A healthy person needs 1500 to 2500 calories daily. The diet of a person depends on his daily work. However, even if a person gets at least 500 calories, he can still remain healthy.

Many people in India do not even have the food they need. Rs 68 lakh crore can be saved every year by stopping food wastage. Disposing of wasted food is a big task in itself. And there is no concrete system in the country for this to be of any use.

Food wastage in the country does not happen only in ordinary homes or restaurants. Due to the proper storage of food items, it is also wasted. But still, we can make big changes by making small changes in our eating habits. 

By stopping the wastage of food items, you will contribute to ending the problem of hunger in the country, as well as contribute to reducing pollution. Wasting food affects the environment. Rotten food is responsible for 8-10% of carbon emissions. 

Many countries of the world have also taken strict steps regarding the wastage of food

In China, a rule has been made in the name of Clean plate, under which people there cannot eat food in a big plate. Australia has set a target to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030. In Germany, if a person leaves more than 100 grams of food on a plate in a restaurant, he is fined heavily. France, Norway, Italy, Denmark, Dubai and South Korea have made rules to prevent food wastage.

Not only this, THE COMPULSORY FOOD WASTE REDUCTION BILL has also been brought in India in which the government has set a target to reduce food wastage by 30 percent by 2025. Our only appeal to you is that you should start stopping the wastage of food from your home and your plate. So that the stomach of the poor does not remain empty.