By Abraham Emaide
In our daily lives, the food we consume plays a crucial role not only in our health but also in the health of our environment. While many of us focus on the benefits of eating nutritious food, we often overlook the significant impact that food waste has on our planet. Proper management of food waste is essential for environmental conservation. There is a need for countrymen and women to diversify their eating habits to save the environment. When we waste food, we waste energy and what it takes to grow. And if food goes to the landfill and rots, it produces methane, a greenhouse gas even more potent than carbon dioxide. About 6 -8 percent of all human-based greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced if we stop wasting food.
In the United States alone, the production of lost or wasted food generates the equivalent of 32.6 million cars worth of greenhouse gas emissions. As the world’s population continues to grow, our challenge should not be how to grow more food, but to feed more people while wasting less of what we already produce. Thankfully, there are plenty of actions we can take at the consumer level to make a significant difference. From delivering leftovers to those in need to freezing food, shopping smarter, and composting to keep inedible scraps out of landfills, we can all take small steps to curb our emissions.
As the world is experiencing global challenges to combat climate change, we need to realize that we are the cause of everything to which we fall victim. We do what we do and suffer because of our doings. From this basic essential, food, we misuse it by damaging our environment. From my own research, it came to my realization that a lady named Cynthia in the apartment I used to stay, would everyday throw meals in an open dumping pit next to my door. A huge piece of “ugali” that I could feed on for 3 meals was being wasted every was dumped. Furthermore, she was fond of dumping a lot of food remains from fish and vegetables with other tenants. I made an alert to the caretaker of the plot who felt inferior and who used to pick up the remains every Friday to the paid waste collectors from the Kiambu Garbage Collection Unit. Her experience was different; She was often sick, and She commented the health hazards were serious. The area compound around was smelly and uncomfortable. He always urged the need for residents to prepare meals they can afford to consume, in a famous and common phrase “Finish Kumalo”, to mean; buy and prepare meals in quantities you can consume without wastage in a mission to protect our environment.
Food waste is a major environmental issue. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), approximately one-third of all food produced globally is wasted. This waste has far-reaching consequences: Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Resource wastage, Loss of biodiversity, and among others. When food is wasted, it means that more land and natural habitats need to be converted into agricultural use, further endangering wildlife and ecosystems. Properly managing food waste can lead to numerous environmental benefits proper management of food waste is critical for conserving our environment. By reducing food waste, we can lower greenhouse gas emissions, conserve resources, improve soil health, and reduce overall waste. Every individual can contribute to this effort by adopting sustainable food practices, supporting composting initiatives, and spreading awareness about the importance of food waste management. Together, we can make a significant difference in protecting our planet for future generations.
"let us stay vigilant, and informed # Let us save the environment "
References:
i)UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021, United Nations Environment Programme, Mar. 2021 ↩︎
ii)Quantifying Methane Emissions from Landfilled Food Waste, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Oct. 2023 ↩︎
iii)Understanding Methane Emission from Stored Animal Manure: A Review to Guide Model Development, Journal of Environmental Quality, May 2021 ↩︎
iv)The Global Methane Budget 2000–2017, Earth System Science Data, Jul. 2020 ↩︎
vi)From Farm to Kitchen: The Environmental Impacts of U.S. Food Waste, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Nov. 2021 ↩︎
In the United States alone, the production of lost or wasted food generates the equivalent of 32.6 million cars worth of greenhouse gas emissions. As the world’s population continues to grow, our challenge should not be how to grow more food, but to feed more people while wasting less of what we already produce. Thankfully, there are plenty of actions we can take at the consumer level to make a significant difference. From delivering leftovers to those in need to freezing food, shopping smarter, and composting to keep inedible scraps out of landfills, we can all take small steps to curb our emissions.
As the world is experiencing global challenges to combat climate change, we need to realize that we are the cause of everything to which we fall victim. We do what we do and suffer because of our doings. From this basic essential, food, we misuse it by damaging our environment. From my own research, it came to my realization that a lady named Cynthia in the apartment I used to stay, would everyday throw meals in an open dumping pit next to my door. A huge piece of “ugali” that I could feed on for 3 meals was being wasted every was dumped. Furthermore, she was fond of dumping a lot of food remains from fish and vegetables with other tenants. I made an alert to the caretaker of the plot who felt inferior and who used to pick up the remains every Friday to the paid waste collectors from the Kiambu Garbage Collection Unit. Her experience was different; She was often sick, and She commented the health hazards were serious. The area compound around was smelly and uncomfortable. He always urged the need for residents to prepare meals they can afford to consume, in a famous and common phrase “Finish Kumalo”, to mean; buy and prepare meals in quantities you can consume without wastage in a mission to protect our environment.
Food waste is a major environmental issue. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), approximately one-third of all food produced globally is wasted. This waste has far-reaching consequences: Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Resource wastage, Loss of biodiversity, and among others. When food is wasted, it means that more land and natural habitats need to be converted into agricultural use, further endangering wildlife and ecosystems. Properly managing food waste can lead to numerous environmental benefits proper management of food waste is critical for conserving our environment. By reducing food waste, we can lower greenhouse gas emissions, conserve resources, improve soil health, and reduce overall waste. Every individual can contribute to this effort by adopting sustainable food practices, supporting composting initiatives, and spreading awareness about the importance of food waste management. Together, we can make a significant difference in protecting our planet for future generations.
"let us stay vigilant, and informed # Let us save the environment "
References:
i)UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021, United Nations Environment Programme, Mar. 2021 ↩︎
ii)Quantifying Methane Emissions from Landfilled Food Waste, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Oct. 2023 ↩︎
iii)Understanding Methane Emission from Stored Animal Manure: A Review to Guide Model Development, Journal of Environmental Quality, May 2021 ↩︎
iv)The Global Methane Budget 2000–2017, Earth System Science Data, Jul. 2020 ↩︎
vi)From Farm to Kitchen: The Environmental Impacts of U.S. Food Waste, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Nov. 2021 ↩︎
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