From Food Waste to #ClimateEmergency
World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a wildlife NGO, is working with The Lost Food Project to address climate change by preventing food waste. WWF senior hospitality programme officer Veronika Forstmeier explains the link between food waste and natural resources, and why saving the one third of food produced that ends up in landfill is crucial.
IN Malaysia, we love food. We all want to indulge in its rich flavours, be the best hosts possible, and enjoy moments of joy together with friends and family. But at the same time, our love of food causes us to over-prepare, over-order and over-consume – in short we waste food. We don’t realise that our behaviour is negatively impacting nature.
One third of all the food we produce is never eaten. From farm to fork, edible food is wasted at every step on its journey to our plates – up to 1.3 billion tons every year. The way we produce and consume food has become the single biggest threat to nature.
As a population, we are unhealthy and literally devouring our planet. We need to get back to the point where the way we produce and consume food nourishes both people and planet.
When you think of where our food comes from, you might think about your local grocer or wet market, or the farmer who produced the food. However, it might surprise you that food actually has a bigger environmental impact than cars or factories. Food production uses the largest portion of all land and freshwater on Earth. It’s the biggest cause of deforestation and toxic greenhouse gas emissions which are causing climate change. It is the biggest cause of the decrease in wildlife and is driving the collapse of fish stocks.
Producing even a tiny serving of food consumes a big chunk of natural resources and generates a lot of pollution. When we waste food we waste all these resources that went into producing it, and we release needless greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
Let’s talk resources in more detail, starting with water: Only 0.007% of Earth’s water is easily accessible freshwater that we can use and food production uses 69% of this very limited water supply. We water the plants and crops we eat; we water the plants that feed livestock; farm animals drink it; we clean cages and pens; we clean meat when it’s butchered. It all adds up.
With an average rice consumption of 82.3 kg per capita, rice remains the staple food in Malaysia and defines its culture.
Producing one kg of rice takes almost 2,500 litres of water. So next time we order or cook nasi lemak, or any other favourite rice dish, let’s be more mindful. Let’s consume in moderation. Let’s only order or prepare what we can finish.
Food production also uses 30% of the total energy we consume. If we save one third of our food, we’ll save 10% more energy worldwide, and cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 8%. We can also free up a siignificant amount of landfill space and avoid much of the methane that is emitted from rotting food.
As a global warming agent, methane is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
Taking a closer look at land use, food production uses 34% of all our land. Crucially, it causes 75% of deforestation and has led to 40% of the world’s once-forested land being cleared. If we produce one third less, we can save 18,919km square of forests a year from being cleared to produce food we waste.
Last but not least, we need to take the impact of food production on our precious wildlife into consideration.
Between 1970 and 2014, the average population size of amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds and fish has dropped by an incredible 60%. The food system has been identified as the biggest cause. When we save one third of food (and as a consequence save the water, energy and natural habitats consumed to produce it), we will have our best chance to reverse this decline in biodiversity.
What’s in it for humanity? More than you might think. Animals are a crucial part of our living planet. They pollinate plants including food crops, improve soil quality, stabilise wildlife population numbers and do countless other things to ensure the cycle of nature continues smoothly. Biodiversity is essential for ensuring our planet can continue to provide us with air, fuel, water and food.
If we avoid waste, we ensure that those resources are not used pointlessly. It also means we can be more efficient with our food distribution and reduce the need to produce excess food as we try to feed a growing population. Creating a sustainable future is a responsibility for everyone – not just politicians and business leaders.
The power of individuals to change our impact on nature is bigger than we think. By building a movement, we can all have a real impact and no more obviously than in reducing food waste.
We have the power to do better, to reduce our impact on nature without enjoying ourselves any less. We can tackle food waste if we act now and act together – individuals, businesses, schools and governments.
Let’s remember that we interact with food on a daily basis. And each interaction – especially when we buy, prepare and eat food – offers an opportunity for us to make smarter choices to fight food waste.
There are simple actions we can all take as an individual which will make a difference: Shop smarter, cook smarter, eat smarter. Restaurants, retailers, hotels and other industry stakeholders as well as governments can also do their part by changing their policies to prevent food waste from occurring in the first place, to donate what waste they cannot prevent but is still safe for people to eat, and to divert the rest away from landfills.
The truth is most people aren’t aware of how big a threat food waste is to our planet.
In fact a recent study showed that over 90% of people don’t realise that the way we produce and consume food is the single biggest threat to nature.
Join us in sharing the message: Save one third will only succeed if everyone commits to doing it; help us get everyone you know to save one third too. Every action counts.