World Food Day: Food Wastage In India, Its Implications on Nutrition and Sustainability

Indians waste as much food as the whole of United Kingdom consumes, according to a study conducted by United Nations Development Program. While this is majorly because of a large population size of the country as compared to the UK, it is still an alarming statistic considering how much of the country’s population still suffers from hunger and malnutrition.

Weddings, canteens, hotels, social and family functions, households throw away a large amount of food on a daily basis. According to the United Nations Development Programme, up to 40% of the food produced in India gets wasted. About 21 million tonnes of wheat are wasted in India and 50% of all food across the world meets the same fate and never reaches the needy. In fact, according to the agriculture ministry, INR 50,000 crores worth of food produced is wasted every year in the country.

The Nutritional Loss

One of the major implications of food wastage is the loss of essential nutrients that could have been utilised for addressing the malnutrition challenges that India faces. Fruits, vegetables, dairy, and protein sources are often discarded before they even reach the consumers, resulting in the loss of vitamins, minerals, and proteins that are vital for health.

According to the Global Hunger Index 2024, India ranks 105th out of 127 countries, with a score of 27.3, which is considered to be serious with respect to the hunger in the country’s population. According to GHI, in India, 13.7% of the population is undernourished, 35.5% of children under five are stunted, 18.7% of children under five are wasted, and 2.9% of children die before their fifth birthday.

Impact on Sustainability

Food wastage also takes a major toll on environmental sustainability. The food production process use various sources such as water, energy, and land. These are all wasted when the food is discarded. The carbon footprint associated with producing, transporting, and processing wasted food also adds to greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, when food waste ends up in landfills, it generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas that accelerates climate change.

Consider the scenario: a farmer invests substantial resources in cultivating a crop. This process requires water, fertiliser, labour, and energy. The harvested crop then travels through the supply chain, consuming additional energy during transportation and storage. If a significant portion of this food goes to waste, the resources invested in its production are all for naught, along with the potential to feed those in need.

Root Causes of Food Wastage

There are several factors that contribute to food wastage in India. One of them is poor storage facilities and inadequate cooling infrastructure along the supply chain, which then lead to spoilage of food. In addition, there is a general lack of awareness among consumers about proper food storage. There is also a significant confusion among consumers between “best before” and “use by” dates which can lead to premature disposal. Another factor that leads to wastage of perfectly good food is the unreasonable market demands for aesthetically perfect produce. This results in rejection of fruits and vegetables that appear imperfect but are healthy for consumption.

Another major cause of food wastage in India is the complexity of the supply chain of food in India. The food supply chain in the country has several intermediaries between farmer/producer to final consumer, including traders, distributors and retailers, among others. This often lead to inefficiencies, with food getting lost at various points along the chain due to lack of proper handling, storage, and transportation facilities. In order to improve supply chain management, there is a need to enhance cold storage facilities, transportation infrastructure, and packaging, to take care of some inefficiencies.

Why is food wastage a problem?

Food wastage is an issue in India for multiple reasons:

1. 25% of the total fresh water that is used to produce food is ultimately wasted. This is a major concern considering the fact that there are millions of people that still do not have access to safe drinking water. Putting this into perspective, the amount of water that gets wasted is a bit more than the amount of water of an average river.

2. Several acres of land is deforested to grow food. Approximately 45% of India’s land is degraded primarily due to deforestation, unsustainable agricultural practices, and excessive groundwater extraction to meet the food demand.

3. Over 300 million barrels of oil that are used to produce food that is ultimately wasted.

What needs to be done to reducing food wastage?

In order to tackle food wastage, there is a need for a multifaceted approach that requires consistent effort from governments, industries, and individuals. For this, several measures need to be put in place:

1. Educational Campaigns

One of the major reasons for significant wastage of food is lack of awareness among consumers and the intermediaries about the way the food needs to be handled in order to increase its longevity. To address this, educational campaigns need to be conducted, at various levels of the food supply chain. These campaigns can educate the stakeholders about various aspects of food preservation including proper storage techniques, safe transportations tips, tips to increase shelf life and prioritising selling and consumption of food that is nearing its expiry date.

In addition educational campaigns can be organised for consumers to help them implement effective meal planning and creative use of leftovers.

2. Improved Supply Chain Management

A major step that needs to be taken in order to tackle a large chunk of food from being wasted is to improve supply chain management. Food is wasted at each level of supply chain from the farmer to the final consumer. While some of it can be reduced by improving efficiency and vigilance, a lot of it cannot be done without technological intervention. For example, perishable foods cannot sustain for a long time without a good cold storage infrastructure. Similarly, modernising the transportation networks and improving the efficiency of logistics can help in ensuring that the food reaches the consumers quickly, long before it loses its quality and longevity. Development of proper packaging that can help in preventing damage to food that can happen during transportation can also help in reducing wastage of food.

3. Redistribution of surplus food

A lot of food in India gets wasted because more food is prepared than consumed. This practice happens in restaurants, events and even households. This food end up being thrown out with no other use for it. Redirecting this food to an NGO that works for feeding the poor, or a food bank can prove to be highly beneficial, as it tackles two issues at once – preventing food wastage and reducing hunger.

What can you do to Reduce Food Wastage Personally?

Here’s what one can do on a more personal level to contain the food wastage:

1) Plan out your meal and make your shopping list to determine what you actually need for the week. About 20% of what we buy in urban India ends up being thrown away.  You could in the week after cut down on the surplus and soon in two or three weeks you will have a precise list of your family’s weekly consumption. You have no idea how amazed you will be at how much you buy and what you actually consume. Needless to say that the difference is but naturally wasted.

2) Buy in quantities you can realistically use. Avoid impulse buys. It will more or less find the bin.

3) If you cook at home, make sure you cook keeping in mind there is no excess. You can always complete your meals with a few fruits rather than keep some extra food in the refrigerator. It’s a lot better and a healthier practice too.

4) Select according to their shelf life. Use the green vegetables first. Don’t throw out fruits and veggies with ‘aesthetic only’ blemishes. Use canned and bottled food before expiry dates.

5) Reuse the refrigerated left-overs (if any) for the very next meal.

6) Even if food gets spoilt then compost it.

7) If you work in an office that has a canteen, check with them on how they manage excess food. Cooked food, especially since it has a low shelf life needs to be managed better and faster. Check with NGOs who offer to transport excess food to the needy.

8) If you host a family get together either at home, a marriage hall or throw a party at a hotel, make sure you plan for the food to be transported to a place like an orphanage or an old age shelter.

9) Make finishing your plate a habit. Try to inculcate it further to as many possible.