Globally, 30% of food is wasted. But what does this have to do with climate change? Food loss or waste are responsible for 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emission. This emission comes from Rotting food, transportation and production of the wasted food. We need to reduce food loss in the farm itself. In low income countries food loss mainly occurs in the early stages due to poor farming techniques and lack of facilities.
But what can we do to stop food waste? Less availability of water and too much heat significantly reduce the potential of a plant. 20-40% of crops globally are lost due to insects, pests, weeds and diseases. Soil quality also plays an important role in the nutrition of the plant. By improving and working more on soil quality and exploiting natural interaction between plants and animals, farmers can improve crop yields while reducing waste and resource use.
Food is often lost or damaged during the harvesting process to avoid this farmers should be provided with effective harvesting technologies. One of the major causes of food loss in low income countries is storage: if food is not stored in the ideal temperature it can easily spoil or rot. Improving storage facilities can avoid a lot of food waste. If lower income countries have access to the same facilities as rich countries, food loss will decrease by 25%. We need to develop low cost services such as solar powered storage that are essential to solve this problem.
Restaurants, retailers and caterers can also reduce their waste by selling food in more appropriate portions and by donating uneaten food to the needy. We should only buy what we need and avoid wasting food as much as we can. We should use refrigerators to store food.
Abdul Rahman Bajaman
The Carbon Newsprint
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