Food wastage is a global phenomenon taking place in almost all countries in the world. Only difference is the extent of wastage occurring in each country. While pre-harvest and post-harvest losses can be substantial and national efforts are called for to reduce the same, at individual level precious foods are thrown away because rich people can afford to do so. In spite of exhortation and frequent awareness campaigns by the governments, wastage continues unabated. Rich and super rich people with wads of money to throw around and to show their status in the society indulge in organizing lavish feasts attended by hundreds if not thousands of invitees. Obviously such mass organized feeding can create surpluses of foods which can deteriorate very fast and same is thrown away, making it an environmental nuisance. Though India cannot be billed as a nation with unlimited wealth, enormous wastage does take place, especially in metropolitan cities and small towns, the culprits being mainly business men, industrialists, politicians and bureaucrats. A recent report of such an episode clearly brings out the dimension of this societal scourge in the country.
"When the daughter of businessman Mohammed Sultan got married recently, guests were treated to a lavish 30-course meal served in super-sized silver platters. The Kashmiri feast, prepared by an army of chefs, included more than 20 meat and kebab dishes rich with spices to go with the saffron-flavored rice and naan breads. Hours later, after the more than 500 guests had eaten their fill, the leftovers were dumped by the cartload at a nearby garbage site. As the ranks of India's wealthy surge with rapid economic growth, many families are staging extravagant displays of food at their children's weddings to show off their new found affluence. The prodigious waste that follows has horrified many in a nation where food prices are skyrocketing and tens of millions of young children are malnourished. At the recent wedding of the son of a ruling party leader, more than a 100 dishes representing Thai, Chinese, Mediterranean and Indian cuisines were served to over 30,000 guests. About 20 percent would've been thrown away. India's Food Minister KV Thomas wants to curtail what has become known as the Big Fat Indian Wedding. He says about one-fifth of the food served at weddings and social gatherings is discarded. "It's a criminal waste," Thomas said. The tons of food wasted at social gatherings across the country each day contrasts sharply with the food shortages, often bordering on chronic starvation, faced by millions of poor Indians. Like elsewhere in Asia, food prices in India are rising fast - by 8.4 percent in June alone - as demand outstrips production. And the burden is falling disproportionately on the poor. Experts say the jump in prices for staples to record highs over the past few months has pushed another 64 million Asians into poverty. According to the food minister, around 100,000 weddings and social events are held in India every day. He says food wasted each day at weddings and family functions in Mumbai alone would be enough to feed the city's vast slum population".
Though GOI showed its concern at such wastage of precious foods, there is very little it has done during the last 3 decades. The Guest Control Order which was in force once upon a time died a natural death because of slack implementation by a government with no political will. Sudden concern shown by the junior Food Minister of GOI may be another passing event and it is sure that nothing much will come out of it. If the country really wants to tackle this problem, a totally different approach is called for. The example in some countries like the US, Canada, Australia etc in creating Food Banks to save the excess prepared foods and utilizing the same for feeding the needy must be emulated. The necessary infrastructure required for collecting the food promptly, preserving them immediately and supplying to designated feeding centers must be created. It can be either the government itself or designated NGOs supported by the government which can shoulder such a noble program.
V.H.POTTY http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/ http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com
