Climate change and food waste-induced hunger are a few of the most adverse crises facing our planet. The immediate impact of climate change is being seen in the way we consume and produce food. Severe heat waves, droughts and floods due to untimely rains are adversely affecting an agrarian economy like India.

The Global Food Policy Report 2022 by the International Food Policy Research Institute has warned that climate change may push many Indians towards hunger by 2030 due to a decline in agricultural production and disruption in the food supply chain.

The report states that globally, around 65 million people are at risk due to climate change-induced hunger, with 17 million people in India facing hunger by 2030, the highest among all countries. According to the report, even if global food production increases by 60 per cent by 2050, 50 crore Indians will still be at risk of going hungry. Of these 50 crore, seven crore people would suffer from hunger due to climate change.

Another major contributor to the world’s food woes is wastage. One-third of all food globally goes to waste, which is enough to feed 3 billion people.

India produces an alarming 500 million tonnes of farm waste annually, and per capita, Indian households waste 50 kg of food. A sizable portion of the food waste disposed of is still edible. Further estimates place the annual cost of food waste in India at over 92,000 crore. Working towards food waste management is one of the many steps we can take to make the planet a better place to live. A few tweaks in our daily habits could help arrest food wastage and also reduce our carbon footprint.

Tips to Manage Food and Food Waste

Festivals are celebrated with grandeur in India and food is a very integral part of these festivities. The best way to conserve and reduce food wastage is to:

Planning your meals helps reduce the likelihood of impulsive purchases and makes it easier to stick to the shopping list. As a result, it reduces the chance of food going to waste at home and ending up in the bin.

Identify food banks and food collection NGOs in your locality to ensure excess food is donated and it reaches the needy. These food banks and food collection NGOs connect with restaurants, caterers, wedding venues and party organisers who intimately know the availability of food for donation. Households can also call these agencies to pick up excess food.

Create community compost for the foods that do end up going to waste. Recycle them. By doing this, you replenish the soil's nutrients and lessen your carbon footprint.

Store it correctly. A common reason for food going to waste is faulty storage. By moving the older foods in your cupboards forward and storing your leftovers in air-tight containers, the chances of your foods surviving for a longer duration of time increases!

These small steps will help reduce our carbon footprint and help put our effort into a world that has access to food security. So, this World Food Day, let us pledge to take a small step towards a secure and hunger-free world.

Courtesy: Authored Article by Paul Abraham, President, Hinduja Foundation.