World Environment Day 2013: Wasting food is no longer an option

By Our Correspondent

Published: June 6, 2013

Experts urge sharing of excesses, use of traditional preservation methods. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD:  Messages of avoiding food wastage resonated in the capital on Wednesday as World Environment Day 2013 was celebrated at two separate events.

This year’s theme, “Think. Eat. Save”, was created to encourage the prevention of food wastage, and to raise awareness about the environmental impact of the food choices people make.
The Ministry of Climate Change, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Pakistan commemorated the day at the National Agriculture Research Centre auditorium.
Representatives of the organising partners said that when food is wasted, natural resources including water, that went into its production are also wasted. Citing examples, they said around 1,000 litres of water were used to produce a litre of milk while the process that resulted in making one burger utilised around 16,000 litres of water.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), food production around the world “occupies 25 per cent of all habitable land and is responsible for 70 per cent of fresh water consumption, 80 per cent of deforestation and 30 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.”
While food wastage is abundant, around one in every seven people globally go to bed hungry every night, while over 20,000 children under the age of five die daily from hunger, according to UNEP estimates.
Experts said non-sustainable patterns of food production were already destroying the environment. They urged people to share their excess food, use traditional preservation methods such as pickling instead of refrigerating, and take a liking for locally grown food.
Serena Hotel in collaboration with UN Habitat organised a separate ceremony to mark the day.
The event was an attempt to raise awareness about avoiding food waste among the hotel’s employees. The hotel’s Health and Safety Manager Omer Khalil gave a presentation on recycling organic food.
Khalil said the hotel first segregated its waste to separate organic waste from glass and other materials. It then used a technique known as “In Vessel Composting” to convert the waste into fertiliser, which is in turn used in the hotel’s gardens, he added.
UN Habitat Pakistan Country Programme Manager Bella Evidente said that the World Environment Day 2013 campaign motivated individuals to take action, starting from their homes, and then witness the power of their collective decisions bring improvements in global food production and consumption trends.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2013.