Waste of food is loss of resources: UNFAO

VARANASI: The World Environment Day was marked with the theme — 'Think Eat Save' to create awareness in people about the environmental impact made by their food choices.
Similar efforts were made in June 2011 when the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution constituted a 15-member committee to deliberate upon and suggest possible ways and means to check food wastage.
The committee formed has been given responsibility to suggest suitable awareness programme and public campaign to curb the food wastage in the country. It would also explore various options for introducing legislative and administrative measures to stop food wastage in the due course. The concern has been voiced time to time on the wastage of food items and ostentatious behavior witnessed especially during occasions like marriages, parties and meetings. It has been estimated that about 15 to 20% of food is wasted in the country at social gatherings.
The World Food Programme observes that despite significant economic progress in the past decade, India is home to about 25% of the world's people who do not get enough to eat. Around 43% of children under the age of five years are victim of malnourishment and more than half of pregnant women aged between 15 to 49 years suffer from anaemia. The states that suffer from hunger and malnutrition the most include Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
The city has also witnessed death of three malnourished children in Lohta and Bajardiha localities, recently. Besides, a number of children were found malnourished in the district. Though the district administration acted fast to provide help to people here after the incident, but the situation remains more or less the same.
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a one-third of the global food production is either wasted or lost. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report states that the wastage of food indicated loss of all the resources and inputs used in the production of food. In fact, the global food production occupies 25% of all habitable land and is responsible for 70% of fresh water consumption, 80% of deforestation, and 30% of greenhouse gas emissions. It is the largest single driver of biodiversity loss and land-use change.