Despite adequate production, dearth of food still prevails in a shockingly huge part of the world. Millions of people, mostly women and children, are going to bed hungry every night owing to a massive shortage of consumable food.
According to the Food Waste Index Report 2021 published by the United Nations Environment Project (UNEP), nearly one third of the total quantity of produced food each year is wasted during the various steps of the food supply system, making it a leading concern for all nations, across income ranges.
The latest Food Waste Index Report released on March 4, around 931 million tonnes of food, constituting 17% of total available food across the globe, gets wasted in a year.
India is not an exception. According to the UNEP report, India’s estimate of food wastage per capita per year amounts to 50 kgs whereas the wastage caused by Indian households per year is pegged at a whopping 68,760,163 tonnes. Apart from the households, responsible for 61 percent of food wastage, retail (13 per cent) and food services (26 per cent) are the two other sectors significantly contributing the wastage.
China, India’s largest neighbor, reports 64 kgs of food wastage per capita per year, while Bangladesh clocks 65 kg per person per year and Sri Lanka wastes an estimated 76 kg per person.
Source- UNEP Food Waste Index 2021
