SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT 22 SEPTEMBER 2024
Snippet from “25 Shocking Facts
About Food Waste”
by Deena Robinson,
www.earth.org, 29 July 2024.
“Roughly one-fifth of the food produced
that is intended for human
consumption every year – around 1.3 billion tons and
valued at US$1 trillion – is wasted or lost. This is enough to
feed 3 billion people.
Food waste ends up wasting a quarter of our water supply
in the form of uneaten food. That’s equated to
US$172billion in wasted water.
The water used to produce the food wasted could be
used by 9 billion people at around 200 litres per person
per day.
Food loss and waste account for about 4.4 gigatonnes
of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
If food loss was a country, it would be the third-largest
greenhouse gas emitter, behind China and the US.
If we stopped throwing food away, we could save the
equivalent of 17 metric tonnes of CO2…, thus reducing
our climate impact.
Developed and developing countries waste or
lose roughly the same amount of food every year, at 670
and 630 million tons respectively.
Food losses translate into lost income for farmers and
higher prices for consumers, giving us an economic incentive
to reduce food waste.
According to a survey conducted by Respect Food, 63%
of people don’t know the difference between the “use
by” and “best before” dates. Foods with “use by” dates
are perishable and must be eaten before the given
date. Foods with “best before” dates can be eaten after
the given date, but they won’t be of the best quality…”
Let’s rethink our consumption habits and choose
lifestyles that honour God’s creation.