Today we find large amount of cuisines being squandered in the functions or any other ceremonies. Food waste is considered as one of the massive problem these days. Today we can find millions of food being wasted all over the world. One can observe that around 40% of the total production of food is being wanted every year in India itself. According to a Development Programme of UN, facts regarding wattage of food has been revealed. It said that almost 50,000 crores value food is being tested around all parts of our country and thus is equivalent to 21 million tonnes of wheat.
When the problem is seen from all countries then the quantity of wastage has increased to 1.3 billion tonnes every year. Usually people only count the quantity of food before wasting it but they should also consider the amount of water used to produce the crop. Also the hard work of the farmers who went starving for purchasing the seeds, pesticides and insecticides. One should also not to forget to include the amount of electricity used in the pumping process of water from ground to the surface level.
Commonly, food waste is also known as food loss, which is defined as throwing food uneaten or half-eaten. It is found that almost 7 million juveniles are dying every year out of starvation due to hunger or malnutrition.
Thus, here I have attempted to bring some of the food wastage reducing tips.
1) Usually people go for shopping frequently when the costs are cheap. Better not to do that. Instead, initially go and check your refrigerator then later take a decision of buying the required things and bring them.
2) At first decide the menu and make a list of the necessary items. Then go for shopping and purchase those vital things.
3) In general people buy food in bulks on discounts. Doing such might spoil the food and it may be unsafe to eat.
4) If in case the amount has been wasted in large quantities then take a step forward to donate it to the needy.
5) Kindly save, preserve or freeze the left over items that may include the dishes, fruits, vegetables etc.
Do not throw food uneaten.
6) One should make sure about the size of the dishes being offered in restaurants. Make sure you are aware about the quantity of food you get on your order. Also, do not hesitate to take the leftover food and keep it for your next meal.
7) While eating in a buffet then check the amount of food you can eat and accordingly serve yourself.
8) However, while cooking it is better not to over serve the food.
9) Using the old vegetables or fruits before eating the new ones is a very good habit.
10) Buy the products based on the expiry dates. Do not bring the food, which has les expiry duration.
11) Try to maintain a record on the food you are throwing every month. This is because you will be cautious in the successive month.
12) The process of canning and pickling are generally found interesting and they are associated with lots of fun.
13) Today we have been acquainting he advancement of technology in all field so that we also encounter some of the apps, which help an individual in reducing the food waste.
14) Also, try to follow some of the compost methods, which would give manure to the garden but do not try to be habituated to it.
One can also discover some of the benefits in reducing the food. They may include the following;
A) It was said that saving food is equal to saving money.
B) The reduction of methane gas takes place.
C) It conserves the energy and resources.
D) Also one can note that the pollution levels being decreased by reducing the wastage of food.
Keeping these tips might help everyone in reducing the wastage of food. In addition, everyone should feel that it is his or her responsibility to take a step forward on this grave problem and fight against the food wastage.
REDUCTION OF FOOD WASTAGE IN INDIA:-
As mentioned already food is being squandered across the globe in different circumstances and thus has become the grave problem these days. Now let us look at some of the cases where the food is being wasted. Generally, the food wasted are categorized into three main units. They are in:
1) Production sector
2) Processing sector
3) Distribution sector
When food is being prepared in industries sometimes due to irregular, shape or what may be the reasons the food produced is wasted. Those reasons may include shape irregularity, no hardness in the prepared product and if the food made is spoiled while cooking, or the product tastes decaying or due to long time of preservation, all these factor make humankind to discard the food produced.
When the food wastage possibilities in the processing unit are observed then that would accompany the above reasons too.
Examples like functions i.e., in household purposes, hotels, functions, schools or colleges or any other institutes, offices, etc. come under distribution sector.
Going through each case let us bring a solution to it.
PRODUCTION SECTOR:
- INDUSTRIES and FACTORIES:
Commonly when seen through an industry or a factory one can observe that ingredients are taken in large amounts. As the products are to be reached to a wide range of people therefore, the team starts preparing products in large scale, which is thus referred to as an INDUSTRY or a FACTORY. When the ingredients are cooked and are brought to required shape then the inspection takes by a group of people. The irregular shaped products which are less hard are thus rejected and are thrown away.
PROCESSING SECTOR:
- ALL packing related units are involved here.
Once the food is produced then it must be packed for distribution. Thus, people on vast number are recruited and the packing process takes place. While packing sometimes if it takes place late then the food may be spoiled. In that case to the food uneaten is thus disposed.
DISTRIBUTION SECTOR:
- As said earlier, hotels or restaurants, households, functions, schools, colleges, offices, canteens, etc.
- HOTELS or RESTAURANTS:
As a hotel is nowadays considered as a most preliminary source for many people therefore, the sales of them have been raising gradually these days. Thus, the Hotel managements are taking measures to provide food for their customers without any failure. Because of this they can get more money, but if in case the number of customers approaching a hotel is less than the food prepared is wasted.
As we know that these days the fast foods that are quite spicy are accepted widely by all the people. In some of the cases, if the spicy content is too high then due to that the customers who ordered it might throw the food without eating them. Also if the food is ordered is more and the tummy is full then also people throw away.
PRECAUTION:
In order to reduce this problem, the hotel and restaurant managements must follow a procedure in which the customers should call and order their before their arrival to hotel. Once the order is confirmed, the team starts cooking. When the customers arrive they will served with fresh and hot food. I hope this idea would help the customers to stay healthy. Implementing this idea would bring overall benefits like the hotel owner would get more profits and the health of people will be conserved. In addition, one should try to order the food that they eat only. The excess food should be packed and taken to home and one should preserve it for next meal. If that seems weird, the at least pack the food and give to the people on the roadside. This is because as said earlier almost 7 million children are dying every year from starvation due to hunger and malnutrition.
2) HOUSEHOLDS:
Mostly, small get-togethers are arranged in homes only. In this case the food prepared will be quite large than in normal days. In some cases if the food prepared tastes different the people will refuse to eat it. In addition, if the guests come home after eating something then also the food taken by them will be very less and thus the food is squandered.
Mostly, small get-togethers are arranged in homes only. In this case the food prepared will be quite large than in normal days. In some cases if the food prepared tastes different the people will refuse to eat it. In addition, if the guests come home after eating something then also the food taken by them will be very less and thus the food is squandered.
When the children are invited then sometimes they feel hard to eat item they don’t like.so they reject to eat those items.
PRECAUTIONS:
- Initially one must send the food menu to all the quests who are attending the get together. Once the list is voted by, many then go for preparing it. Also make the list of items to be prepared for children and ask them that ill they eat or not.
- If the food prepared is left over in huge quantities ten try to freeze it and use it in next meal.
- Or else try to donate it to the needy people like give it in the orphanages, ONLY when the food smells good.
3) FUNCTIONS:
These days the functions are being the major cause for food wastage. The rich people try to show off their status by serving people with different cuisines. The food prepared will include all the regional food items, also some of the famous sweets along with some other popular cuisines.
Today the people are being attracted with the way the dishes are organised and the way they are presented in front of people. People rather call this process as nouvelle cuisines. For this purpose the chiefs of all time are invited from all over the world.
Once the functions gets finished then the people will come to know about the amount of leftover food. Then they would feel bad about the situation.
REDUCTION TECHNIQUES:
Generally, in that case try to donate the food to different old age homes, orphanages, etc. If not take measures to distribute the leftover food to the people who sleep on the pavements in the name of the person who was the main attraction of the function. Try to bestow the blessings upon your children of hungry people.
4) SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, OFFICES – CANTEENS:
These are the places where the fun would accompany the hard work. Usually one would enjoy the break times with their fellow beings. Thus, the best place to share their happiness in nothing but CANTEEN. Individuals find canteen food tastier than homemade one’s. That is why all of them prefer to eat food in canteen rather than the food they brought from their home. Ordinarily, the canteen people prefer to prepare the food little spicy so that the purchasers would increase and thus profits would reach the sky. The spicy powder use in canteen disturb the intestine system, which disturb an individual the gastric troubles. Also, in that case the buyer when encounter too spicy items then they might reject the food.
Students wish to spend most of their college time in canteens only. They enjoy chattering with their friends about various things while appreciating the taste of canteen food. In the meantime, they do not observe how spicy the food is. After reaching home then the stomach reminds them about their past actions with the return gift.
FOOD WASTAGE REDUCTION METHODS:
- One should concentrate about the food they eat
- Buy the food to which they can eat maximum.
- It is better to go for homemade stuff rather than outside food.
- Try, not to waste food one purchase, as each penny counts while you eat.
