Food in the Trash: Waste Levels

Although the possibility of an apocalyptic planet, where food is such a scarce commodity that it is necessary to fight for it, still sounds like a science fiction theme, the prospects are not promising. Especially if we consider that almost one-third of the food produced annually in the world is wasted. Hunger problems could be alleviated if we simply stopped throwing food away. Food is one of the most serious problems facing humanity. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), nearly a billion people worldwide suffer from hunger. In such a scenario, throwing food away seems almost a criminal act, but it is exactly what we do. The “loss and waste of food” is a term coined by the FAO that refers to “the decrease in the mass of food for human consumption at any point in the production chain.” In other words: all those foods intended for human consumption that ultimately are not consumed by the population are considered waste. To give an idea of the magnitude of the situation, the organization published the study Global Food Losses and Food Waste, the most ambitious of its kind to date, whose results show that 32% of the food produced in 2009 (almost one-third of a total production of approximately 4 billion tons) was wasted. Waste Chain According to the same report, disseminated by The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, an English association with a presence in 140 countries, food waste occurs at every stage of the production-distribution-consumption chain. This includes harvesting, storage, packaging, transportation, retail offerings, and final consumer behavior. Among the issues highlighted by this document are the policies of distributors, wholesalers, and retailers, which prioritize “aesthetic perfection” of fruits and vegetables (which implies that many bruised but perfectly consumable foods do not reach the shelves). On the other side of the table, from the consumer's point of view, the same happens: we choose beautiful fruits and vegetables before buying those that have a blemish or a slight bruise, which generates enormous waste. To this problem, the FAO adds commercial practices whose offerings stimulate excessive food purchases (many end up spoiling in diners' refrigerators and cupboards), strict expiration dates (buyers assume that it is not safe to consume food after that date, even if that means that good food goes to waste), and a consumption culture where waste is so natural that we do not even notice its consequences. Mexico in Decline In the case of our country, we waste about 37% of the food we produce each year (10.4 million tons out of an approximate total of 28.1 million, a percentage that exceeds the international average of 32%) and that would be enough to feed 7.4 million Mexicans annually. This is according to an analysis conducted by the Technical Group on Food Losses and Waste in Mexico, published in 2013 by the Ministry of Social Development (Sedesol), which indicates that the most wasted foods are cow's milk and guava: 57% of production ends up in the trash. They are followed by mangoes, fish, and sardines, with 54% waste; then avocado, banana, and cactus, with 53%. For Genaro Aguilar Gutiérrez, a specialist at the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) and in charge of this research, “it is inhumane that so many thousands of tons are wasted each year, which could be used to prevent the hunger that millions of people suffer.” Consumers Strike Back To avoid waste, the FAO recommends that governments, among other actions, generate educational and awareness campaigns directed at each of the actors in the food chain and consumers; improve transportation, energy, and market infrastructure; as well as promote development and facilitate producers' access to new technology. Other actions involve changes in the legal framework and government policies. A successful example worldwide is France, where a law was passed stating that supermarkets larger than 400 square meters cannot throw away perishable products. Instead, they must donate food unfit for human consumption to animal care organizations or for compost production. As consumers, we also have the possibility to reverse the situation and contribute to better food utilization. There are organizations and networks dedicated to raising awareness about consumption habits and creating community to fight together for waste-free nutrition. Culinary Misfits, ThinkEatSave, Disco Sopa, Ugly Fruits (which seeks to convince consumers to include all those “ugly vegetables” in their shopping carts). Meanwhile, Picnic, Casserole Club, Shareyourmeal, Cookisto, Foodsharing, are websites that connect cooks and buyers to share food. For example, if a household has leftover food, the user can post their ad to subscribers in the area and offer the food at a low cost. Possible Future There is a tremendous opportunity to redirect actions aimed at reversing food waste. The specialists at The Institution of Mechanical Engineers put it clearly: if the total food produced annually in the world amounts to around 4 billion tons, and between 30% and 50% of that is wasted, it means we are feeding 7 billion people with 2.8 billion tons of food. To feed 9.6 billion people (the estimated population for 2050) would only require 4 billion tons of food, the same amount we produce today… but without the waste. Although it is impossible to consider a production chain without waste, the measures against food waste that we take will strengthen the possibilities of sustainable global food development. Raising awareness among the population and taking action against food loss and waste can change the way we conceive the fight against hunger and benefit millions of people. A Hungry Country To solve the problem of food shortage in the world, there are basically two solutions. On one hand, increase production or optimize the consumption of what is currently produced. In early August, Enrique Martínez y Martínez, Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries, and Food, declared to the media that in light of the FAO's forecasts—which state that by 2050 we will be 9.6 billion inhabitants on the planet—: “we will have to produce at least 60% more food to meet the demand.” This statement was accompanied by infrastructure plans to increase production and exports, which include the modernization of irrigation, the provision of tractors and agricultural implements, and the implementation of a program for the construction of water harvesting dams, among others. On the other hand, the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (Coneval) published the results of a survey conducted with a million beneficiaries of the National Crusade Against Hunger, a government strategy created in 2013 that “aims to provide a structural and permanent solution to a serious problem that exists in Mexico: hunger.” Although this program reduced food insecurity from 100% to 42.5%, Coneval itself points out that “mechanisms must be found to achieve broader poverty reduction that involves 55 million people.” Global Waste According to the FAO, fruit is the most wasted food in the world. Each year, 1.3 billion tons are discarded without consumption, which corresponds to 44% of production. Other highly wasted foods include tubers (20%), cereals (19%), and milk (8% of global waste). Exhausted Planet According to the Global Footprint Network (GFN), on August 13, the consumption of more than 7 billion people living on Earth exhausted the natural resources that the planet is capable of producing during 2015. That is, from that moment onwards, all the resources we consume exceed the Earth's production capacity. (GFN estimates that “humanity currently needs 1.6 planets to sustain its consumption model. And two planets will be needed by 2030). Collateral Damage Food waste not only represents human and economic losses; it also implies the needless use of water, land, energy, packaging material, chemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides, in addition to the fuel used to transport food, among many other collateral wastes. This waste poses a risk to the environment due to the increase in methane and other greenhouse gases caused by food decomposition.