Sustainable Food Production is Imperative for a Healthy Planet

In the Sidama region of Ethiopia, the Gebre family raises their own crops from a family garden after losing access to safe and nutritious food from markets. Credit: UNICEF

By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 17 2024 (IPS)

Food waste has been a pressing concern for environmentalists and humanitarians for decades. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that approximately one third of all global food products end up in landfills, equating to roughly 1.3 billion metric tons. Conversely, according to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), about 3 billion people lack access to nutritious or sufficient amounts of food that will sustain a healthy diet. Additionally, food waste has been a leading factor in environmental degradation since the start of the industrial revolution, with food in landfills releasing millions of metric tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere yearly.

According to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), around 60 percent of global food wasted comes from households, totaling up to 631 million tons. The World Resources Institute estimates that food waste costs the global economy upwards of one trillion dollars annually. These figures are expected to double by 2050.

Food waste is a global issue among high-income, upper-middle income, and lower-middle income countries, with differing average levels of household food waste. Still, much of the world’s food waste comes from economic powerhouses and highly populous nations, such as the United States, India, and China. Higher food waste levels are also linked to nations that experience warmer climates, with hotter temperatures contributing to a significant decrease in shelf life.

UNEP’S Food Waste Index Report 2024 states that the average person wastes about 79 kilograms of food annually, equating to 1.3 meals every day for everyone in the world. Excessive consumption exacerbates the inflation of food prices, making access to food much more difficult for marginalized communities and developing nations. Reducing global food waste is imperative in ensuring worldwide food security.

“The paradox we live in is that we have produced all-time records of food in recent years amidst an unbearable level of world hunger. The use of food commodities for non-food uses is massive and growing fast”, said Anuradha Mittal, founder and executive director of the Oakland Institute.

In June 2024, the World Food Programme (WFP) stated, “Right now, the world produces enough food to nourish every child, woman and man on the planet. All the food produced but never eaten would be sufficient to feed two billion people. That’s more than twice the number of undernourished people across the globe”.

Food waste is also a significant sustainability issue as massive amounts of critical resources, such as fossil fuels, water, farmland, and electricity, are wasted in producing food that ends up in landfills. Approximately one third of all arable land in the world is used for agriculture. In addition, food production accounts for 66 percent of global water consumption, with the average person’s daily food consumption costing 2,000 to 5,000 liters of water to produce.

According to UNEP experts, food waste contributes to almost ten percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, which is nearly five times the total emissions of the aviation industry. The United States’ National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) adds that north of 23 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions are generated by agriculture. Agricultural exploitation, including deforestation and the excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers, is a leading cause of biodiversity loss and habitat destruction.

Meat production takes a particularly high toll on overall planet health. NCBI states, “Livestock production does not only have a negative influence on carbon emissions, but also on the water footprint, water pollution, and water scarcity”. The livestock and meat production industries contribute to at least 18 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. Estimates from the Water Footprint Calculator report that it takes over 2,000 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef.

Producing food for livestock, similar to food production for humans, can have disastrous effects on the environment. Mittal told IPS that animal feed is comprised of food that has been grown through fossil-fuel based intensive industrial agriculture, or land grabbed from local and indigenous communities, done through the devastation of forests, water supplies, and biodiversity. “This comes at a very high price for humanity,” she said.

“This comes at a very high price for humanity. Food grown through fossil-fuel based intensive industrial agriculture, on land grabbed from Indigenous and local communities, through the devastation of forests, waters, and biodiversity, is used as animal feed,” Mittal told IPS.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that approximately 26 percent of all meat products sold are discarded. Researchers at Leiden University in the Netherlands estimate that approximately 18 billion pigs, chickens, turkeys, cows, goats, and sheep are discarded in the production or packing phases, before ever reaching consumers. This study does not account for the seafood industry. According to the World Economic Forum, approximately 15 percent of all seafood is wasted annually. Roughly one third of seafood losses come from processing on land.

Countries around the world are in the process of adopting cleaner habits when it comes to food production and consumerism. In recent years, Denmark has been hailed as a “champion” among European countries for its food waste reduction. From 2011 to 2017, the Danish government launched the campaign “Stop Wasting Food”, to promote capillary retail and non-excessive consumer practices, which ended up cutting food waste levels by 25 percent. “Stop Wasting Food” has recovered over 300 tons of surplus food since beginning operations.

“The United Kingdom is the only country with a dual date-labeling system, providing both a best by date and a safe until date. France has banned waste from grocery stores, requiring that food that is still perfectly good to eat gets donated to those in need. The United States recently announced a draft national strategy to reduce the amount of food sent to landfills, laying out approaches to divert surplus food and implement more sustainable waste management practices”, stated Danielle Nierenberg, president of Food Tank.

According to WFP, roughly 9.4 percent of all children in China face stunted growth as a result of acute food insecurity. With the Chinese population constantly on the rise, food insecurity and carbon emissions have been of utmost concern for officials. China has declared an accelerated plan in collaboration with the Central Economic Work Conference to adopt cleaner production and consumption practices.

UNEP is looking to halve global food waste levels by 2030 by offering countries guidance in safer food production practices in its Food Waste Index. Governments around the world are adopting public-private partnerships in an attempt to lessen the strain on the environment caused by food production and consumerism. In addition, the European Union (EU) has launched the ‘Farm to Fork Strategy’, an initiative that provides advice and financial support to industries as they make the transition to more sustainable procedures.

“To deal with this crisis, a global treaty on the non-proliferation of industrial meat production to curb the seemingly endless expansion of agricultural production for non-food uses, is the first step,” said Mittal.

IPS UN Bureau Report