UN, others, on World Environmental Day, urge end to food waste

AS Nigerians yesterday joined their counterparts worldwide to mark the “World Environmental Day” with the theme Think.Eat.Save: Reduce Your Foodprint, the United Nations (UN), Minister of Environment, Hadiza Mailafia and other stakeholders have called for more conscious efforts aimed at curbing the massive loss and waste inherent in today’s food systems, lamenting that tonnes of edible

Produce are squandered yearly. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message: “On this World Environment Day, I urge all actors in the global food chain to take responsibility for environmentally-sustainable and socially-equitable food systems,” Currently, at least one-third of all food produced fails to make it from farm to table. “This is foremost an affront to the hungry, but it also represents a massive environmental cost in terms of energy, land and water.” He further noted that in developing countries, pests, inadequate storage facilities and inefficient supply chains are major contributors to food loss. Those who grow for export are also often at the mercy of over-stringent expectations of buyers who place a premium on cosmetic perfection. In developed nations, food thrown away by households and the retail and catering industries rots in landfills, releasing significant quantities of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. “Food loss and waste is something we can all address,” Mr. Ban said, noting that the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and public and private sector partners have launched the “Think.Eat.Save: Reduce Your Foodprint” campaign to raise global awareness and showcase solutions relevant to developed and developing countries alike. Mailafia added: “Given the imbalances in lifestyles, standards of living, economic status and the enormous environmental challenges facing our people, there is need for us to be more aware of the environmental impacts and economic consequences of the food choices we make to enable us make informed decisions on food management.”

Chinedum Uwaegbulam, Adeniyi Adunola, Tolulope Okunlola (Lagos) and Lillian Chukwu (Abuja)