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[av_heading heading=’ EDITORIAL | From farm to table’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”][/av_heading]
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Wednesday, April 12, 2017
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EVERY YEAR, an estimated 1.3 billion tons of food worth $1 trillion are wasted globally. According to scientists from the Germany-based Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, reducing food waste ensures food security and at the same time help mitigate climate change.
Their study, “Food Surplus and Its Climate Burdens”, found that “avoiding food loss and waste may counteract the increasing food demand and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector,” stressing “this is crucial because of limited options available to increase food production.”
This is interesting. Cutting food waste could help fight climate change. In truth, food waste in a planet where many go to bed hungry is unconscionable. With this new study, we hope more Filipinos will be made aware of the need to undo all forms of food wastage, which is essential to ease malnutrition and hunger and mitigate climate change.
Study co-author Prajal Pradhan explained that “agriculture is a major driver of climate change, accounting for more than 20 percent of overall global greenhouse-gas emissions in 2010” and that “avoiding food loss and waste would therefore avoid unnecessary greenhouse-gas emissions and help mitigate climate change.”
Any practical ideas to help reduce food waste from farm to table?
Ensure adequate and clean containers for the produce. Keep the harvested crops under the shade or in a clean spot that will not be disturbed by animals. Make sure that the goods are arranged properly and transported in a clean and safe manner.
At the dining table, it’s important to remind everyone to get only what can be consumed and that not even a single grain will be left on the plate. Household members should tell food preparers if they will eat at home or not to ensure that only enough will be cooked. Households with fruit-bearing trees should also make it a point to harvest the fruits before they fall to the ground. Share the fruits with relatives and give the rest to your neighbors.
More practical ideas? Let us start reducing waste from farm to table.
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