Did you know that food waste and globalization are closely linked? Yes, food waste is a huge major source of greenhouse gas, which contributes to climate change. Many of us are unaware of how much food we waste at any particular moment. Consider the days when we prepare more than we can consume or the milk that has been left in the refrigerator for too long. All of these items are dumped in landfills, where they rot for days, emitting greenhouse gases. Throwing once in a while may appear to be little environmental harm caused by a single house. We waste nearly one-third of all food produced, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization. To put it in another way, if food waste was a country, it would be the world's third-largest country.
Food waste happens at all stages of the food supply chain, not only at the store and consumer levels. It may be found in all stages of a process. Furthermore, consider the amount of land, water, fertilizer, money, fuel, and energy spent on the farm to produce that wasted food. All of this is for nothing since we do not properly handle food. One-third of it is wasted just because of this.
When you waste food, you waste water too!
Food waste is also a waste of water! Yes, wasting food wastes millions of gallons of water. Agriculture consumes the majority of fresh water on the planet. These freshwater supplies are rapidly decreasing, much like the global need for millions of hungry and thirsty people. We consume a lot of water in every stage of the food production process, whether it's irrigation, spraying, pouring, or any other method. Water is also needed for the feeding of animals, fish, and poultry.
As a result, when we throw away food, we also throw away millions of gallons of water that were required to develop and nourish plants. Water is abundant in the fruits and vegetables we eat because millions of tones of water are required to cultivate them; even meat and poultry are heavy users of water since they use a lot of it. Each crop requires a certain amount of water, and each animal needs a different amount of water. For example, 100 buckets of water are required to make a loaf of bread, but 54 buckets are required to raise one chicken breast.
Finally, the amount of water used to dispose of spoiled food is estimated to be over 45 trillion gallons. Or, to put it another way, agriculture consumes 70% of all freshwater.
Methane is emitted when food is wasted!
When food is thrown out, it ends up in landfills, where it rots and produces methane, a greenhouse gas 28 times more strong than CO2. We can avoid over 11% of greenhouse gas emissions by diverting food waste from landfills to an innovative food waste treatment system. The methane emitted by food waste remains in our environment for 12 years, trapping the majority of the heat from the sun. Although methane is a short-lived gas, it accounts for 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions.
Food waste is fuel waste!
Oil, diesel, and fossil fuels are used to cultivate, transport, store, and prepare food. Harvesting machinery, for example, consumes a lot of fuel, as does carrying food from the farm to the warehouse, as well as machinery that sorts, cleans, packages, or prepares food. Oil, diesel, and other fuels are used in a lot of these machines. Furthermore, landfills are always located outside of cities. As a result, trash is delivered long distances through garbage trucks that run on gasoline or diesel. When these fuels are used, harmful greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere. Food waste wastes a lot of gasoline or oil at the back and front end, which has a big influence on our environment.
Food waste is land waste!
In terms of food waste, there are two types of land waste. The land that is used to grow food and the land that is used to throw wasted food. Fertile land and non-fertile land are the two types of land. Crops can only be cultivated on fertile ground, therefore non-fertile soil is not suitable for growing crops. These lands are ideal for animals since they are not fertile. Non-fertile land is used for animal production on around 900 million hectares. Agriculture covers over 11.5 billion hectares of the world's land area. It is not an issue to utilize land for cultivating crops or raising cattle. Food waste is the main issue. We often really think about what we throw out with our food.
As a result, when considering food waste solutions, it's important to consider the environmental impact as well.
This indicates that every consumer, manufacturer, and retailer can play a part in preventing and reducing food waste by recycling, reusing, and other environmentally friendly methods.
We can maintain good production and consumption - both personally and collectively - in this way, helping to rescue the globe.
Through Tekeya we can prevent food waste and climate change, by not throwing any surplus food, and instead sell it with half it's price to consumers or donate it to charities!
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