Anusha Santhirasthipam, Soroptimist International Assistant Programme Director, writes about the need to reduce food waste, the theme for this year’s World Environment Day.

Think. Eat. Save – an anti-food waste and food loss campaign is a wake-up call for all of us reduce our foodprint. It is the theme for this year’s World Environment Day on 5 June 2013.

According to FAO, every year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted. This is equivalent to the same amount produced in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, 1 in every 7 people in the world go to bed hungry and more than 20,000 children under the age of 5 die daily from hunger.  

Think. Eat. Save – encourages us to become more aware of the environmental impact of the food choices we make and empowers us to make informed decisions. 

FAO estimates that a third of global food production is either wasted or lost, while the Planet struggles to feed 7 billion human inhabitants. Food waste is an enormous drain on natural resources and contributes to  environmental degradation.

This year’s campaign is an excellent opportunity for programme action by Soroptimist clubs to mobilise families in local communities to take action from home. Soroptimist clubs can demonstrate the power of collective decisions made to reduce food waste, save money, minimise the environmental impact of food production and force food production processes to become more efficient.

According to UNEP, the global food production occupies 25% of all habitable land and is responsible for 70% of fresh water consumption, 80% of deforestation, and 30% of greenhouse gas emissions. It is the largest single driver of biodiversity loss and land-use change.

Making informed decision therefore means, for example, that you purposefully select foods with less environmental impact, such as organic foods that do not use chemicals in the production process. Choosing to buy locally can also mean that foods are not flown halfway across the world and therefore limit emissions.    

As we contemplate how we are going to halt food waste and save our planet’s scarce resources, it is also an opportune time for us to reflect upon the agreed actions by Governments at Rio+20 UN Summit in June 2012 and assess the state of progress in each of our countries.  

Watch this space for Anusha’s blog about SI’s involvement in promoting sustainability on a global level on World Environment Day – next Wednesday, 5 June.