Food is a fundamental human need, which when not met stipends the individual from becoming a productive, healthy and happy member of society. Food security is characterized by admittance to adequate food, and is connected to wellbeing through ailing health. For any human to reach their true potential it is paramount for this basic need to be affordable and accessible.
According to the United Nations World Food Programme, 36 Million Tonnes of food is wasted annually in Pakistan. 40 to 45% of food from weddings, social gatherings and restaurants gets wasted every single day. From a global perspective figures relating to food wastage add up to an estimated 1.3 billion tons for each year, which makes up one third of the world’s total food. These disturbing figures signify the vast amount of food that is neglected globally despite the abundance of hunger. Furthermore data collected from the United Nation World Food Programme shows that globally one of out of every seven individuals will go to sleep hungry, and that one out of four children is underweight. The Coronavirus pandemic has further exasperated this reality by affecting the most vulnerable in our communities who are worrying about their next meal. So despite there being so much food, there is much hunger. It is evident that this hunger is not because there is a scarcity of food, but rather because of a maldistribution of resources.
In the 21st century there are various components of modern life that are prompting food wastage, making it an emerging issue that is having a major impact on the world. With the fast advancement of society, individuals’ disposition towards food has also greatly changed. Food is no longer simply a component to fulfil ones appetite, but rather an indicator of one’s social class. This can be evidenced with the documentation of ones meals on social media platforms. In Pakistan weddings are now serving up to ten dishes in order to promote their lavish lifestyles, resulting in food going to waste. According to the United Nations World Food Programme 40 to 45% of food from weddings, social gatherings and restaurants gets wasted every single day.
It is vital that we acknowledge that problems relating to food wastage also have grave consequences for the climate and environment in Pakistan, which is already extremely vulnerable to climate change. According to the German Watch’s Global Climate Risk Index Pakistan we will see a 50% reduction in crop yield by 2030. Wasting food produces methane and globally food wastage’s carbon footprint is estimated at 3.3 billion tons of CO2 equivalent to GHG released into the atmosphere per year. All the steps in the production process of food from producers to consumers require a huge amount of resources, which are wasted when food is wasted. Among these resources is water as it takes about 3,500 litres to produce the amount of food that a person need in a day. With Pakistan suffering from a shortage of water we cannot risk this misuse. Land and soil degradation also occurs because of excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides. It is imperative that in order to protect Pakistan and its resources we need to tackle the issue of food waste, as it is the menace that sends more than a third of our food supply to rot and is a major contributor of climate change.
For a long time hunger has been utilized as a weapon of battle, yet as of late this issue has ascended to an unmistakable high due to the expanded danger of mass starvation. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report of 2014, the population of the world will be about 7 billion to 9.2 billion which will increase 60 % global food production. If we will not be able to tackle the food wastage, the world will be facing mass starvation by 2050.
However, not all is lost as we are taking a step forward in recognising the seriousness of the global food crisis with the World Food Programme (WFP), one of the largest humanitarian organisations addressing hunger and promoting food security, winning the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize. The WFP are being appreciated for their efforts to battle hunger, commitment to bettering conditions in struggle influenced regions and for their endeavours to forestall the utilization of appetite as a weapon of war and strife. The emphasis on the importance of food security continues as Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan recently acknowledged food security as one of the government’s top priorities, calling for medium and long-term projects for improvement of the agriculture sector, increase in production and modernisation of the sector as food security.
It is clear that we have more food than ever before, yet due to an unjust system more people than ever before go hungry every day. The disparity and inequity between the rich and the poor is tremendous. We see that the rich are becoming richer, and the poor are becoming poorer. The killer in our society is not a lack of resources, rather a lack of compassion. A man with a full stomach, at night dreams of eternal possibilities. Whereas a man with an empty stomach cannot think past his longing for food. It is imperative that in order for us to not only survive, but rather thrive as a Nation and Global community we need to tackle the issue of food waste. We all have an individual responsibility to eliminate hunger. No one should go without a daily meal.