Food Waste: Its Impact on the Planet and People

About the author: Nsama Musonda Kearns is the Founder and Executive Director of Care for Nature Zambia, a non-profit organization working to promote environmental conservation and sustainable development. Author of Learning about the Environment, Nsama spearheads environmental conservation projects, education, and policy implementation in Zambia. She is a passionate advocate for the environment, and dreams of our collective action to save the planet.

Population growth, globalization, and a desire for different tastes has driven the agricultural sector to meet intensive food demands. While commercial production of livestock, grains, fruits and vegetables increases food availability worldwide, large scale production comes at a cost.

The Sad Reality of Food Waste

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), one third of all food produced globally goes to waste. Of this, half is wasted during production, transportation, handling/packaging, and at the household level, where poor meal planning poses problems. In most developing countries, where hunger is even more prevalent, food waste occurs due to a lack of storage facilities and technologies to preserve and handle perishable items.

The one billion tons of food wasted globally each year puts an unnecessary strain on our planet’s resources and poses a threat to human survival. This is because food that ends up in landfills produces methane – a greenhouse gas much stronger than carbon dioxide – which contributes heavily to global warming and climate change.

The UNEP and Climate and Clean Air Coalition revealed methane is a primary contributor to the formation of ground ozone. Exposure to this hazardous gas causes one million premature deaths every year. Furthermore, climate change caused by emissions is one of the most pressing global issues, requiring urgent action. Now more than ever before, economies and human survival are at risk due to climate and weather related disasters.

The link between food production and food waste has created a vicious cycle where the end result is poverty. Developing countries are most affected, as they lack technologies and financial capacity to balance production and consumption. Food waste has become a significant socio-economic problem, with its effects devastating economies and livelihoods, and in many cases resulting in malnourishment and death.

In Zambia, economic activities such as agriculture, forestry, mining, and infrastructure development are causing biodiversity loss on a daily basis. With over 80% of the population depending on natural resources for food, fuel, income, and raw materials, Zambia’s wildlife, forests, fisheries, minerals, water and land are at risk of depletion and degradation - urgent action is needed to avoid total loss and extinction of species. Further climate change has emerged as one of the most pressing challenges in Zambia, affecting social and economic development, and increasing the threat of poverty. 

What Can We Do?

The fate of humanity and our planet depends on our ability to balance food production and consumption. The higher the demand for agricultural produce, the more forests cleared, and more fossil fuels burned throughout the manufacturing process.

Today, the Paris Agreement calls to limit global warming to 1.5°C, and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 12 further calls for sustainable consumption and production patterns, aiming to halve global food waste per capita by 2030.

The ties between food waste, malnutrition, and poverty can be reduced by better managing food production and resources. Our actions today determine our tomorrow. As David Attenborough said: “The truth is the natural world is changing and we are totally dependent on that world. It provides our food, water and air. It is the most precious thing we have and we need to defend it.”

We must take steps to stop food waste. Your actions and my actions can save our planet. Produce and consume responsibly, and most importantly: care for Nature.