FOOD WASTAGE IS WATER WASTAGE

Water the most important factor of life is going scarce and we are to be blamed for this. This article is a small effort to enlighten the people from the Food industry and the agriculture sector about the cost of water mismanagement. Losses of food between the farmers’ field to our dinner table – in food storage, transport, food processing, and retail and in our kitchens – are huge. This loss of food is equivalent to a loss in water.

We need to use our water prudently – no one will argue with this statement. But in fact we are wasteful. This need will become more pronounced, and the cost of bad water management will get higher in the future with increasing water demands from increasing population, cities, agriculture, and the environment. Moreover water management will become more difficult with climate change. New solutions and fast actions are required now.

Agriculture is the largest human use of water. Clearly, agricultural practices need to be targeted to reduce wastage of water. This has been the centre of attention for water saving practices for years. But there are additional ways to save water. Food consumers and businesses have a key role. Losses of food between the farmers’ field to our dinner table – in food storage, transport, food processing, and retail and in our kitchens– are huge. This loss of food is equivalent to a loss in water.

Reducing food loss and wastage lessens water needs in agriculture. We need to pay more attention to this fact. Making the food chain more efficient means saving water that would have been used to produce that food. More than that, a reduction of losses and wastage can serve the interests of farmers, consumers and society at large. The amount of food produced on farmers’ fields is much more than is necessary for a healthy, productive and active life for the global population. Clearly, distribution of food is a problem – many are hungry, while at the same time many over eat. A hidden problem is that farmers have to supply food to take care of both our necessary consumption and our wasteful habits. This problem can be turned into an opportunity.

Targeting losses and wasteful habits may generate multiple gains, including the saving of water. In addition to saving water by a reduction of losses and wastage in the food chain, agricultural water management practices could be much more productive.

 Inefficient harvesting, transport, storage and packaging make a considerable dent in the potential availability of food. Additional and significant losses and wastage occur in food processing, wholesale, retail and in households and other parts of society where food is consumed. The estimate is dependent upon how the conversion of food in terms of grains used for feed to produce animal foods is interpreted.

It is important to recognise that agricultural products that are harvested but that do not reach our dinner plates are not necessarily wasted. Agricultural produce and residues are used for various purposes at farm level or within the agricultural system – for feed, bio energy and soil amelioration. This is a typical situation among small holder agriculturalists in developing countries.

Situations differ from industrialised countries to those with weak economies and a strong agricultural base, and between rich and poor producers and consumers. Generally, the losses in the first part of the food chain, which result of poor harvesting technologies, lack of transport and poor storage in combination with climatic circumstances, are relatively more important in developing countries. In industrialised countries, where a high percentage of the population live in urban centres, wastage is quite high. Trends in diet composition, towards a higher fraction of animal food items, fruits and vegetables tend to shorten the durability of food and could increase the risk of losses and wastage.

In fact, the entire picture is complex, and the knowledge to guide policy pertaining to various parts of the food chain needs to be improved. However, there is enough evidence that the magnitude of food and water losses are large enough and that we must pay close attention. Strategies that focus on reducing losses from field to fork can facilitate the achievement of multiple development objectives: food security, improvement of livelihoods of farmers, meet the growing demand for non-food agricultural products and safeguarding environmental resilience.

A NEW ERA FOR WATER AND FOOD MANAGEMENT                                                

Warnings about severe water scarcity come at the dawn of a new era for agriculture. For an increasingly affluent world population the demand for a range of agricultural products is rapidly increasing, while the poor have to bear the brunt of price hikes and lack of access to food and water supplies. An estimated 1.4 billion people already live in areas where there is not enough water available to meet all needs from sectors of society, let alone the need of aquatic ecosystems. Over the past 50 years, food supply has increased more rapidly than populations have, and under nourishment, a lingering threat throughout history, has been reduced. Until very recently, the real price of food has been fairly stable or declined, benefiting both national and household economies although it has been detrimental to farmers. The situation now is characterised by rapidly increasing prices on food with dramatic repercussions for the poor, rates of inflation and, generally, for the stability of society. Several coinciding circumstances contribute to this quite serious situation, which may increase the number of people who are under nourished. Faced with this threat and with the escalating water scarcity and increased competition for land and water resources for a range of uses, increases in water productivity are necessary especially in areas where production and productivity are low and where there is a need for more food and improved livelihood for the producers. But it also makes sense to ensure that as much as possible of the food produced is accessible for consumption across social groups of society.

Access to food is very much conditioned by socioeconomic circumstances in society. Under nourishment is largely perpetuated by poverty and conflict. However, with losses and wastage in different stages of the food chain, the overall food security in society is compromised. One reason for losses in the food chain is an increasing distance between the places where food is produced and where it is consumed. Whereas in the past, many people produced their own food, now various parts of our meal come from food grown in many places in the world. Parallel and closely associated with this trend, is the involvement of a growing number of actors and interests along the food chain. Apart from farmers, transporters, storekeepers, food processing industry, shopkeepers, supermarkets, among others, are involved. We therefore need to look at the stakeholders and drivers in various segments of the food chain and to what extent interests either coincide or are at odds across major groups. Enhancing efficiency in one part of the chain, e.g. in production, can be nullified if losses and wastage occur, or increase, in other parts of the chain.

All of these changes have implications on water resources. More food is likely to come at a cost of more water use in agriculture. Further, distance to market, and a more complicated food chain and changes in composition and variety of food supply, open the possibility of more food and water wastage. Water will be a key constraint to food security, unless we change the way we think and act about the whole chain, from production to consumption.

 

KEY ISSUES FOR POLICY DEBATE

Support to Farmers

Actions are needed to support farmers, especially small farmers, to curb losses of water and food and to facilitate that their produce meets the growing demands for food as well as other agricultural commodities. Growing expectations on the agricultural sector is an opportunity that needs to be properly harnessed through:

• Improved seeds, harvesting technologies, better transport and storage.

• Innovative ways to capture and beneficially use the rain falling on farmers’ fields to increase the fraction of the rains that can be productively used and to lessen stresses on rivers and groundwater. With current practices and strategies, a large fraction of the rainfall is lost in terms of unproductive evaporation in many parts of the world.

• Financial and institutional arrangements to realise productivity improvements.

• Co-management of land and water management, preferably in a basin context is much needed. In many cases, government institutions do not integrate these two sectors.

Food Processing and Supply

The business community should take action to minimise water wastage through reducing food wastage in their processing and transport:

• Benchmarking standards should be set by industry to indicate water use, including water use in the entire food chain, not just in their factory.

• The business community should take action to minimise water wastage through food wastage in their processing and transport systems.

• Businesses can raise publicity about their water use, and the need to save water.

Sensitise Consumers

Raise awareness amongst consumers about the water implications of their diets, overeating and food wastage. We as consumers need to be careful about food wastage in our homes. Over eating and throwing food away is like leaving the tap running:

• Raise awareness amongst consumers about the water implications of their diets, overeating, and food wastage.

• Incentives and practical guidance and well designed campaigns may be required to reduce food wastage in our homes and how to combine home economics with sound food habits. Concrete examples of how to avoid or reduce the throwing away of food need to be used.

• Explore the opportunities to include information of losses and wastage as part of a labelling system or as information on strategic consumer food items

 

Basic Data and Information

We lack factual information about different types, size and implications of losses and wastage of food. An important step is therefore to improve knowledge:

• International organisations, businesses and agencies for research at national and international levels should initiate studies that will reveal the different types and magnitude of losses and wastage in the food chain indifferent parts of the world, and identify steps that can be taken to minimise these.

• Quantify information on the costs of losses and wastage as well as what are the benefits and who will benefit with a reduction in losses and wastage. Costs and benefits should be estimated in monetary terms but also in terms of water savings, environmental aspects and other suitable parameters.

A Strategy for Action

Governments, international organisations and NGOs have major roles to play to drive the policy agenda and its implementation. Following the call from World Economic Forum in January 2010, it is appropriate that the resources represented by the businesses are part of a coordinated action.

A suitable next step is the forming of a broad collaboration across the business community and between the research community, the private sectors, NGOs, civil society and government. A consortium of policy makers, representatives from industry, academia and civil society could lead the way to design effective, acceptable and practical actions to reduce losses and wastage by half by 2025.

Conclusion

For an integrated and innovative strategy for saving water, a reduction of losses and wastage of food from field to fork is sound and rational. Reducing losses and wastage will ease pressure on water and other resources and free up land and water for other purposes than food production. A number of benefits are within reach for a cross section of people and interests in society. Livelihoods of producers could be enhanced, supplies to industry could be improved and consumers could benefit.

Reducing losses of water and produce in the field and on the road to the market, presents tangible opportunities for farmers and their customers. Multiple gains across many sectors and at low cost are conceivable. We need to set a target to reduce food losses and wastage.

With due consideration to the magnitude of losses and the potential gains, a reduction by 50 percent of losses and wastage in the entire food chain from field to fork – including agricultural and post-harvest practices – seems realistic. As outlined in the policy suggestions, a number of actions will be necessary to achieve such a goal.

At this point in time, we are lacking the factual information about different types, size and implications of losses and wastage of food. We also need to better understand what a true loss is and what may appear to be losses: This is important in order to distinguish losses from the use and reuse of part of the food and farm residues. Informed decisions and effective policies will require a better terminology and more figures and facts. A major step to start the process for an effective strategy is to put the issue of losses and wastage on the political and research agenda. New and systematic knowledge about the food chain in academic curriculum and training programmes for people in, for example, food industry and trade are needed. With more and more people living far away from sites where food is produced, with food being processed and packed in various types of wrappings, and with growing affluence, this information becomes essential to the public at large. By improving knowledge and through political initiatives, the necessary resources and driving forces for food and water security in a world of increasing water stress and competition need to be mobilised and set in motion.