After oxygen, food is the most important thing in our daily life. Since ancient times, many people work from morning to evening in the hope of a handful of food. However, with the change of economy and social system, the type of food has also changed. In the past, ordinary people did not think of extra food out of necessity, whereas nowadays people of almost all classes and professions eat in restaurants. Thanks to different local and foreign restaurants, food of different tastes from different countries is also available nowadays. But all this has been associated with wasted food and waste. But the demand for food is constantly increasing in the world, innumerable people are going hungry even after a lot of food is wasted.
Definition of food waste and wastage
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States (FAO), one-third of the world's food is wasted! Although different countries and organizations give different definitions of food waste or food waste, two simple definitions have been used in this article for the convenience of the readers. Food spoilage refers to the time from production to delivery to the customer. Food can be spoiled before it reaches the consumer due to natural disasters, transportation problems or improper storage. On the other hand, food is wasted when food is wasted due to the consumer. Many people throw away a good food just because it is not the color or size of choice. Again many customers waste as a result of not being able to buy and eat a lot of food at once. And spoiling restaurants or cooked food has become a very common thing nowadays in many developing and developed countries including Bangladesh.
The way food is wasted and wasted
It may seem that food is wasted at home. But in reality the food starts to spoil long before it reaches the hands of the consumer. It takes a long time from food production to delivery to the consumer. And most food is wasted at this stage. However, countries that are technologically advanced have a much lower rate of loss than other countries.
Droughts, floods, and other natural disasters wreak havoc on crops in almost every country. In addition, various crop diseases occur at different times due to the attack of insects or microorganisms. In underdeveloped countries the production may be less due to not being able to take proper care of the crop. Diseases also occur at different times in livestock farms. As a result, food spoilage starts from the very beginning of food production. Even if the crop is produced properly, short-term or long-term stocking is required to reach the consumer. Lots of food is wasted because it is not stored properly. Then there is food spoilage during transportation. Accidents on the road can lead to food spoilage, raw fruits or vegetables can be spoiled in hot or humid weather due to improper preparation for transportation. Fish-meat can be spoiled if the refrigerator of the vehicle transporting fish-meat is damaged.
Even if the production stage is ruined due to natural calamities or transport accidents, food is not wasted in the hands of the consumers. In developed countries, many people do not buy food if the color or size is a little different! As a result, the vegetables or fruits end up in the garbage can to look a little awkward. Many people buy extra food at home and leave it, but in the end they don't eat it. Nowadays it has become a very common but scary thing not to eat with extra food at a party. Again, after buying packaged food, you do not notice how long it has expired, so if it expires, you have to throw it away. In our eyes, the food we don't eat in our house is much less in our eyes, but overall we are wasting a lot of food like this, almost every day!
Even in the middle stage of food production and consumption, food is often wasted. If the price of a crop suddenly goes up, it often goes down in sales. Since fruits or vegetables are perishable, food is often wasted in such situations. Again, even though the price of the crop has come down, farmers often destroy the crop in protest. In our country, it is often seen that farmers protest by throwing their crops in the streets when the prices of crops go down. Again many big food processing companies are very picky in their raw material procurement. It is seen that they do not take all the crops produced by a farmer and take some part. Advertisements in Bangladesh often say, "Made with specially selected…." Most of the crops or fruits that survive after this special selection are wasted. In this way, food is wasted at the production stage or without being wasted or wasted by the consumer.
Food wastage is highest in the production stage, in all regions of the world. However, consumer-level wastage is highest in rich and developed countries. According to the FAO, industrialized countries waste almost twice as much food as other countries. And in all regions, fruits and vegetables are at the top of the list of wasted foods. The scariest
Tax data shows that the amount of food wasted each year in rich countries is about the same as the total food production in the sub-Saharan region! The amount of food wasted and wasted per capita in the rich countries of Europe and North America is almost 10 times more than the food wasted per capita in Africa and South Asia! It is easy to understand that along with money, the amount of food wasted and wasted also increases.
What we need to do to prevent food wastage:
While we cannot personally do much about food spoiled by natural disasters or germs or wasted during transportation, we can control the waste of food in our personal lives by ourselves.
Let's start with the market. Many people go home after shopping, but there is no need to buy so much food. This shows that some food is spoiled in the fridge at the end of the week or on the way to spoiling. So you have to give up the habit of over-marketing while shopping.
Many times the market can be ruined if it is done in moderation but not stored properly. It is also important to know where and how to store any food. For example, if potatoes and onions are kept in an open place or if vegetables are kept in an airtight bag in the fridge, it is good for a long time.
Then there is the waste of cooked food. Everyone has an idea about how much food we can eat. But even then we don’t have extra food on the plate to satisfy the ‘hunger of the eyes’ much of which is wasted at the end. This is most often at the wedding house or party. Many of them sit down to eat with others in the dawa. It is a waste of food, but also a loss of health. Many people are suffering from various diseases including heart disease at a very young age due to excessive and unhealthy food. So we should take as much as we can eat at meal time. It is possible to eat a lot even if you don't eat a lot at first, but you can reduce the wastage of food by keeping this in mind while eating.
One should also be careful when buying packaged food. When buying short-term meals like bread, you should look at how long the expiration date is. At the same time, it should be kept in mind whether it will be possible to finish the whole meal within this period. If it happens that it can be cooked or saved in any other way even after expiration, then that measure should also be taken.
Surviving food for weddings or invitations can be given to orphanages or street children. There are currently several organizations that collect such surviving food.
Can be used as waste manure. Nowadays many people cultivate flowers or vegetables at home. It can be easily used on plants by making composite fertilizer without leaving any food. Even though the food was wasted, it was fine for other work and there was no need to spend for the care of the tree.
Why it is important to stop wasting food:
Only the poor are not getting food so there is no reason to think that food waste needs to be stopped or reduced. Food waste is not just a waste of food, but also a waste of money, labor and energy. Lots of people are involved, from growing crops to buying food. In this they give them money and labor. But if the money given to them and the food of labor is wasted, then that money and labor is also wasted in the end. Seeds transported for crop production, tractors or vehicles used for transporting crops are constantly increasing their emissions of carbon dioxide by burning fuel. On the other hand, various greenhouse gases are being emitted from food processing factories. But cooking also requires fuel and water. If food is wasted in the end, then at the same time a lot of fuel is being wasted and greenhouse gases are being added to the atmosphere. On the other hand, water is being wasted along with food. As a result, on the one hand, food was wasted and the environment was also damaged. If the food is not wasted, at least there was a benefit! Considering all aspects, if food is wasted or wasted, not only food is wasted, but other losses are also added.
Many people in the world are dying without food, but food is still wasted every day. Again, due to lack of coordination, goodwill and corruption, it is not possible to deliver the food produced to everyone. Apart from the production stage, it is possible to provide food to many families throughout the year with the amount wasted at the consumer level. But we can at least correct ourselves at the individual level. This may not directly feed the people in the poverty-stricken areas, but it will not reduce their profits. To waste one's food is to waste one's hard earned money. So it is very important for everyone to be aware to prevent food waste.
This article serves as an eye opener to the human race. Let's help one another conserve whatever food we have. Sooner or later, we are still the one who will benefit.