Salterbaxter - Food Mega Trednds

Waste & Want

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Waste & Want

Food is the biggest industry on the planet, worth nearly $5 trillion
a year. As the world's population grows to around 9bn by 2050,
demand for food is predicted almost to double.

Unless this demand can be met, prices will continue to rise and
so will the number of hungry and malnourished people. Despite
this, according to the UN, about a third of the food we
produce globally is wasted.

In the first of a series looking at the 'megatrends' that will define
the coming decades, we investigated how food scarcity
and waste can be tackled.

Scroll to follow the seed down the food chain
and learn what the solutions might be.

1. WE CAN GROW MORE FOOD

But finding good land is getting harder and more risky. Already, the expansion of agricultural land is the number one cause of deforestation. Up to a fifth of climate change is the result of deforestation.

The way we currently produce food, it would take new farmland equivalent to three Brazils to meet future demand.

2. WE CAN USE NEW TECHNOLOGIES

From genetic engineering to mobile phones, scientists and technology companies are coming up with ways to boost productivity. But some of these new ideas are controversial.

3. We can use more intensive production methods

Crop yields in the richest countries are already 300% higher than those in the poorest countries. Part of this is due to bigger farms and the use of more machinery, fertilisers and pesticides, which boost production and cut waste. So, if rich world methods were more widely used in the poor world we could feed more people.

But is this intensive agriculture always the right solution?

4. We can cut post-harvest waste

In developing countries, much of the food grown never makes it to the people who need it. 40% of their food waste occurs at the post-harvest and processing stages due to poor domestic transport infrastructure and inadequate storage facilities.

5. We can make our food go further

If we make our food more durable, less of it will end up as waste. Using packaging to protect it can make our food go further. In fact the packaging industry claims it has reduced waste from harvest to table to just 3% in developed countries.

www.pafa.org.uk

6. We can transport it more efficiently

The food industry is increasingly global. In the UK, for example, about 50% of the food bought comes from other countries. Limiting the amount of waste as it is transported is a vital part of the mix.

Link

7. We can cut retail waste

Supermarkets in Britain alone generate 300,000 tonnes of food waste every year through unsold food. But their impact goes beyond this. Many retailers in developed countries have strict cosmetic standards for the food they sell. Some estimates suggest that 20-40% of fresh produce is rejected before it reaches the shops because of appearance, much of this ending up as waste.

Link

8. We can eat up!

40% of all food waste in the developed world is wasted by consumers just like you. In the UK, consumers pay for but donÕt eat £10 billion of food every year Š up to a third of the food we buy.

9. We can stop 
wasting the waste

The food that we throw away usually ends up in landfill, where it degrades. As it does so, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas with 23 times the heat trapping capability of carbon dioxide. According to the US EPA in 2009, 17% of all human-related methane emissions in the US came from landfill sites. Whilst limiting waste will always be best, we can make better use of what we do throw away.

#foodwaste