Sustainability in the food industry has been an overarching issue for the past several years scaling from better production methods to equal pay rates. A growing point of concern has been the lack of availability of food for several people around the world due to extensive amounts of wastage. This year, especially, the UK government, has decided to increase the pay rates for farmers looking after numerous lands of farms and to help them deliver sustainable food. This system aims to prevent the decline of nature by 2030 and have a net carbon zero environment by 2050 and the best way that they think they can achieve is this by putting money in the farming industry under the Countryside Stewardship Agreement and the Sustainable Farming Incentive.
While trying to handle such a big market, it is important to keep in mind the main priorities that need to be addressed and amended, especially, before the government decides to invest loads of money in a specific industry. The most important aspect to keep in mind is being able understand the best practices, innovations and ideas that are trending and most effective in the farming industry. From indigenous food systems to city-wide based solutions, the farming industry has developed many ways to produce an eco-friendly manner of distributing and manufacturing food.
Several countries across the world have a “one third rule” that helps prevent the loss of food and maintains the manufacturing process in an environmentally friendly manner. For the very first time, Europe put together a Citizens’ Panels to discuss this severe situation of food loss. The purpose of this panel was to bring together the citizens of this generation together and collectively discuss on the issue as on average 127kg of food person in the year 2020 was lost in the EU. Additionally, it is important to note that this food waste contributes heavily on the environment as it is responsible for around 5% of EU’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Think about it this way: saving food from wastage is a 3-fold win. Firstly, it helps to save food for human consumption. Secondly, it saves money for farmers, companies, and consumers as it would mean not buying excess food. And thirdly and the most obvious one: it lowers the environmental impact of food production and consumption.
I must admit, for the longest time, I used to be one of those who would waste tons of food without understanding the consequences that my actions would have on the society and environment. However, the more I read about this and write about this, the more conscious and guilty I feel about my past actions. All I can do now is work on my actions and get better. Trust me, it is never too late to start working on your actions.
Let me know in the comments how you think you have contributed to making the food system sustainable. It could be by shopping at a local market instead of a supermarket? Or growing your own compost using an electric composter? Or reusing the ingredients in your refrigerator instead of throwing it out?