Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care.

The state of our environment is critical to human health and survival. Human beings depend on the environment for food, clean air, and water. Our diet includes plants and animals whose survival and safety depend on the state of the environment. Environmental pollution destroys ecosystems that are important to human health and part of our food chain. In additional, the environment is the source of natural resources that nations require for economic growth. Nations create wealth by trading their natural resources and products of such resources with other nations.

The Theme for World Environment Day for 2012 was ‘Think, Eat and Save’.  Think, Eat and Save was an anti-food waste and food loss campaign which was launched to encourage everybody to reduce their food print. The impact of food waste is not just financial. Environmentally, food waste leads to wasteful use of chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides; more fuel used for transportation; and more rotting  food, creating more methane – one of the most harmful greenhouse gases that contributes to climate change.

Retailers’ strict cosmetic standards result in rejection of food items not perfect in shape or appearance. Consumers’ waste food through excess purchase and careless eating behaviors’. If food is wasted; it means that all the resources and inputs used in the production of all the food are also lost.

A recent study by the Indian Institute of Public Administration on the wastage of food during social gatherings in national capital region Delhi, shows that rising economic prosperity makes people indulge in extravagance and ostentatious behavior during social events and people do not mind throwing away food, but the menu has to be extensive as any shortage would affect their so-called honor and respect in society. Also, celebrations of plethora of festivals in Indian societies waste food on such occasions as it is prepared on a large scale.

Given this enormous imbalance in lifestyles and the resultant devastating effects on the environment, it is expected out of us to become more aware of the environmental impact of the food choices that we all make and empowers all of us to make informed decisions. The objective rallies us to take action from our homes and then witness the power of collective decisions which we and others have made to reduce food waste, save money, minimize the environmental impact of food production and force food production processes to become more efficient.

Although governments bear the responsibility of protecting the environment, all citizens have a role to play in keeping the environment clean and safe.

I would urge you to look for wastages happening around in your vicinity, in canteens, at office get together, at guest houses, in your own house or when you go out to eat in a restaurant. Think of innovative ways to reduce food wastages and you would be doing your bit to save the world