Using What We Have

In case you missed it, there was a fabulous op-ed in Friday’s Times. Its two authors looked at global food waste and characterized it as an opportunity to feed the 925 million undernourished people on this earth.

The authors do a nice job conveying the scale of our waste. But it also gets beyond the numbers, illustrating many of the reasons behind the 1.3 billion tons of food wasted worldwide.

We often discuss the reasons behind waste in the developed world–much of it comes down to consumer behavior and cheap food. On the other hand…

The issue is different in the developing world. Some 35 to 45 percent of the food produced is also lost there every year, but typically well before the supplies even reach buyers….India, the world’s second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables, loses about 40 percent of that production because of mismanagement, inadequate infrastructure and storage, poor transportation, shoddy supply-chain logistics, and underdeveloped markets.

The op-ed is a well-written call for action that will no doubt raise awareness on food waste. Give it a read and pass it on!

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