Topic– Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation
7) How is Food wastage linked to environment. Discuss. Also discuss the ways to reduce food wastage.(250 words)
Why this question
Food wastage is an environmental as well as a moral issue which has a huge but unnoticed impact on the society. It is essential to discuss the issue in detail and how it affects environment and whether anything can be done to solve the problem.
Directive word
Discuss- this is an all-encompassing directive which mandates us to write in detail about the key demand of the question. we also have to discuss about the related and important aspects of the question in order to bring out a complete picture of the issue in hand.
Key demand of the question.
The question wants us to write in detail about all the aspects as to how food wastage is an environmental issue. It then wants us to discuss in detail about the ways in which food wastage can be reduced.
Structure of the answer
Introduction- Write a few introductory lines about food wastage problem. E.g A 2011 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) illustrates the scale of the challenge. It states that globally, one third of the food produced is wasted, amounting to a loss of $750 billion.
Body-
- Discuss the environmental impacts of food wastage. E.g Overall, on a per-capita basis, much more food is wasted in the industrialised world than in developing countries; ‘the blue water footprint (i.e. the consumption of surface and groundwater resources) of food wastage is about 250 km³, which is equivalent to the annual water discharge of the Volga river, or three times the volume of Lake Geneva; Finally, produced but uneaten food vainly occupies almost 1.4 billion hectares of land or close to 30 per cent of the world’s agricultural land area.’; Food wastage impacts on biodiversity loss at a global level. In order to maximize agricultural yields, farmers have increasingly invaded wild areas in search for more fertile lands which has led to loss of biodiversity; The food produced and then later goes to waste is estimated to be equivalent to 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gas emission, accelerating the impacts of climate change etc.
- Discuss how food wastage can be reduced. E.g Balancing food production with demand; Bettering food harvesting, storage, processing and distribution processes; Consumers to buy and prepare food with a plan; Food recycling; Foodprint campaigns etc.
Conclusion- based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
