Hippocrates says “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” This means that the food we dine on is the medicine of our life. End of the day it is for the food we eat that we strive hard and harder each day. Though we speak about sophisticated food waste terms of economic growth, stability and development, did we know that there is a part of the world devoid of even the most basic amenity to live life, that being “food”.

According to the key facts on food loss and food waste by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), “1/3 of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally, which amounts to about 1.3 billion tons per year”. This whooping quantity of food could actually feed some 795 million people who starve.

Analyzing food waste:

Food waste is a global issue and cannot be resolved overnight. Every individual needs to be responsible enough as food waste not only begins at our kitchens but right from the harvest of fruits and vegetables. Crops which are ready to go to the market are quality checked and a major portion of it is dumped for various reasons. This is where food waste begins. It continues to shop owners throwing away another portion for petty reasons.

Controlling food waste:

As mentioned earlier, food waste cannot be resolved altogether but only be corrected and controlled at places. Let us analyze the possible areas to check for food waste:

Plan your meal:

To begin with our kitchen, plan your meal menu for the entire day and avoid unnecessary cooking. This should include the number of people you will be cooking for, the approximate amount of raw vegetables you would require to reduce wastage drastically.

Store food with care:

Avoid throwing away leftover food. Instead store it carefully and use it the next day. It usually happens that we might have cooked for expected guests who might not have turned up. Stay cool. Heat the food. Let it cool down to room temperature and store it in a covered container.

Make smart use of your refrigerator:

Everybody has a refrigerator nowadays. Use it smartly. Store leftover food in clean containers. Food stored properly in freezers can be definitely used by the next 2 to 3 days. This is harmless.

Avoid unwanted grocery:

Though storing raw food is good, we sometimes tend to forget on what we need. At times, this ends in repeated purchase and wastage of grocery. Plan ahead your grocery list and buy what is required.

Give away:

This happens often when there is a function and there is plenty of leftover food. Think twice before you simply throw it away. Try to give it to somebody like any institution who wouldn’t mind receiving the food. Utilize it the best possible way.

11.3% of the world’s total population is hungry on a daily basis.

Remember this you waste a scrap of food the next time!