Data Collection - India's Contribution to Global Food Waste

Summary of the collected data

When it comes to wasting food items, India is ahead of China, says a UN report on food waste and its impact on natural resources. Globally, one-third of the food produced is wasted, costing the world economy about $750 billion (more than Rs 47 lakh crore), the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation’s report said. It said Asian countries, especially India and China, were the worst culprits causing loss of 1.3 billion tonnes of food every year.

India is a significant contributor on account of both pre and post harvest waste in cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables.

In terms of overall food waste - agricultural produce, poultry and milk—India ranks seventh, with the Russian Federation at the top of the list. India’s lower ranking is because most of the countries ranking above it utilise much of their land in raising poultry, while a major chunk of land in India is under agriculture. That is why the highest wastage of cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables occurs in India.

Meat accounts for just four percent of the food wastage but contributes 20% in the economic cost of the wastage. Wastage of vegetables and fruits is 70% of the total produce, but it translated into only 40% of the economic losses. 

Also, rice crop emits methane, a potent global warming gas, because of the decomposition of organic matter in submerged paddy fields. Therefore, its wastage means bigger environmental impact, the report added. 

The main reason behind this is inappropriate supply chain management and lack of basic facility to store the foods. As per a survey by IIM Kolkata, only 10% foods get cold storage facility in India.

Though the Indian government  is proactively working to tackle the situation then also it is a huge challenge for a country like India to waste so much of food when many people is spending days in poverty and hunger.

Indians waste as much food as the whole of United Kingdom consumes – a statistic that may not be so much indicative of our love of surfeit, as it is of our population. Still, food wastage is an alarming issue in India. Our street and garbage bins, landfills have sufficient proof to prove it.

Weddings, canteens, hotels, social and family functions, households spew out so much food.  According to the United Nations Development Programme, up to 40% of the food produced in India is wasted. About 21 million tonnes of wheat are wasted in India and 50% of all food across the world meets the same fate and never reaches the needy. In fact, according to the agriculture ministry, Rs. 50,000 crore worth of food produced is wasted every year in the country.
India ranks 63 among 88 countries in Global Hunger Index. Wastage of food is not indicative of only hunger or pollution, but also many economic problems in the economy, such as inflation. Only government policies are not responsible for the problems we are facing today, but our culture and traditions are also playing a lead role in this drama. In India, the bigger the wedding, the larger the party and the more colossal the waste.

While the wasted fruits and vegetables alone were estimated at Rs 13,300 crore, other food products like rice, wheat, cereals and meat are also allowed to perish without consumption.