As many poor countries face foodshortages and soaring food prices, much attention is being given to boostingagricultural production. But a new report says just as much emphasis should beplaced on reducing the amount of food that is wasted each year, food worthbillions of dollars. VOA's Joe De Capua reports.
As many poor countries face foodshortages and soaring prices, much attention is being given to boostingagricultural production. But a new report says emphasis should also be placedon reducing the amount of food that is wasted each year, food worth billions ofdollars.
From farms in developing countriesto kitchens in the United States and Europe, a lot of food ends up as garbage.So says a report from the Stockholm International Water Institute.
Lead author Jan Lundqvist,chairman of the institute's scientific committee, explains how food is wastedat the very places where it's grown.
"That's due to poor harvestingtechnologies. That's due to poor transport, storage, lack of cooling facilitiesand such things. And that is a problem, which we think is predominantly thecase in the poorer parts of the world. So a large part of the food that isproduced by the farmers in the field is not reaching the market," he says.
In rich nations, food is generallyplentiful and affordable. As a result, leftovers after a meal are oftendiscarded. The report says in the United States, for example, 48 billiondollars worth of food is thrown away each year.
"The wastage of food - the factthat maybe primarily households are throwing away in the order of 25 percent,or one-third, or something like that, of the food that they are buying. Most ofwhich is also perfectly fit for eating," he says.
But while Lundqvist talks aboutwasted food, he also says huge amounts of water are being wasted as well. Theinstitute's report is entitled: Saving water: From Field to Fork ? CurbingLosses and Wastage in the Food Chain.
"All the food that is being produced,either if it's eaten or thrown away, it has of course consumed water inproduction," he says.
How much water? Well, consider theamount used each year in irrigation systems around the world.
"Today, we use roughly 2,700 cubickilometers of water for irrigation purposes. If half of that food is being lostor wasted, that means also that roughly 1300 cubic kilometers of water are alsowasted. If we can reduce that figure, if we can reduce wastage and losses, thenwe would also reduce the pressure on irrigation systems<" he says.
If you're having trouble imagining1300 cubic kilometers of water, it's equal to half the volume of Lake Victoriain East Africa.
With current food shortages andhigh prices in developing countries, there are increased calls for boostingagriculture production. But the Stockholm International Water Institute reportsays that addresses only half the issue. The head of the scientific programcommittee explains.
"I think it is important toimprove production and productivity, for instance, in African countries becausethey have a very low productivity today. But I think we have to go into thefuture on two legs. We have to improve production in areas where it's possibleto increase production; and we have to make sure that we try to reduce lossesand wastage wherever that's possible," he says.
Among the report's recommendationsare improving harvesting technologies and better transport and storage forfarmers; innovative ways to capture rainfall; more efficient methods to processfood; raising awareness about wasting food or letting tap water rununnecessarily; and better irrigation systems.
It also calls on policymakers,consumers and the business community to get more involved in managing naturalresources and making food production much more efficient.