THE number is mind-boggling. According to the UN Environment Programme’s Food Waste Index, over 900 million tonnes of food is thrown away every year, with close to 60pc of this wasted at home. This is nothing short of criminal, considering the evil of hunger that stalks humanity. As per 2019 figures, 690m people were affected by hunger. To put things in perspective, the amount of wasted food could fill 23m trucks. These figures illustrate the fact that there is something very wrong with people’s approach towards food. While such a huge amount of food makes its way into the bin, hundreds of millions of people are forced to sleep hungry. Therefore, more efforts are required on the global level to address this issue and reduce such wanton wastage.
Primarily, to reverse the negative trend of wasting food, efforts require to be undertaken at home. Consumers should only buy and cook enough food to meet their requirements, and avoid bulk buying or preparing more than is required. This way the needless waste of edible items can be minimised. Moreover, there are several non-profits in the field that take surplus food from restaurants and other establishments and provide it to the less fortunate. This model needs to be promoted to prevent food from being thrown away, and ensuring the most vulnerable don’t starve. Aside from the strange dichotomy of massive amounts of food being thrown away at one end and millions going hungry at the other, food wastage also has a significant impact on the planet. For example, when food is consigned to garbage bins, the resources invested in growing it are wasted, while discarded food is also a major emitter of greenhouse gases. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation offers numerous tips on how to reduce food loss and food waste. These include buying only what one needs, storing food wisely, using leftovers and donating surplus food before it rots. The fact is that it will require changing personal and family habits as well as putting in place policies to prevent such massive food wastage. At the local level, the importance of not wasting food must be highlighted by the state and within communities, for example by producing public service messages on a variety of media. Taking food wastage seriously will not only be better for the earth, it will also ensure no one in our surroundings goes hungry.
Covid-19 spike
FEARS about a spike in Covid-19 cases in the country turned real this week as coronavirus infections, hospitalisations and the positivity ratio marked increases. SAPM for National Health Services Faisal Sultan said the decline witnessed over the last two months is “clearly reversing” and that positivity had gone up from 3.31pc to 4.16pc within one week. In Punjab, Friday saw 860 cases — the highest reported figure in a day over the last three months — across the province. A report also suggested that cases in Punjab are the highest among people between the ages of 21 and 30. This increase in cases follows the lifting of restrictions across the country a few weeks ago. From educational institutions to indoor weddings, most activities are in full swing — while neither mass testing nor vaccination rollout are meeting satisfactory targets. On March 5, only 38,200 tests were conducted across the country, a figure that is far too low, especially since commercial activities and gatherings are in full swing. Experts and health bodies across the world have said that widely available testing is the only way to gauge the prevalence of the virus and the trends that are developing. But, for some inexplicable reason, the authorities in Pakistan have failed to go beyond 50,000 or so daily tests. The vaccination programme, too, has been unimpressive, with low registration by healthcare workers and lack of clarity from the government about how it will be rolled out. The arrival of the AstraZeneca vaccine has been delayed. What is more alarming is that Pakistan is yet to purchase vaccines; all the vaccines available today, as well as those expected to arrive in the country, are donations by China or Covax.
An urgent vaccination programme should be the top priority. Across the world, countries battered by Covid-19 are looking at phased reopening as the vaccine is administered. People must be informed and protected. The government must do more than simply urge SOP enforcement, especially as the fear of Covid-19 appears to be absent from the public imagination.
