Curb food waste and save the planet
Source: https://www.gulftoday.ae/opinion/2022/10/02/curb-food-waste-and-save-the-planet
“Reducing food waste would cut greenhouse gas emissions, slow the destruction of nature through land conversion and pollution, enhance the availability of food and thus reduce hunger and save money at a time of global recession,” said Andersen. In 2018, a report said food waste could rise by almost a third by 2030 when more than 2 billion tonnes will be binned, researchers said, warning of a “staggering” crisis propelled by a booming world population and changing habits in developing nations. The United Nations has set a target of halving food loss and waste by 2030. But the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study found that if current trends continued, it would rise to 2.1 billion tonnes annually – an amount worth $1.5 trillion. Much of the projected increase was down to a swelling world population, with more people resulting in more waste. Household waste will increase in developing countries as consumers gain more disposable income, said the report. UNEP will launch regional working groups to aid countries’ capacities to measure and record food waste on time. It will also support these countries as they develop national baselines to track progress towards the 2030 goal, and design strategies to prevent food waste.