World Environment Day 2013

World Environment Day 2013

The theme for this year’s World Environment Day celebrations is Think.Eat.Save. 

Think.Eat.Save is an anti-food waste and food loss campaign that encourages you to reduce your foodprint. 

You all must be thinking how is it relevant to you all, like women’s day, valentine day, cancer day, what’s so great about this day too…and does it really affect you at individual level…please read on to know more and how can you support it.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), every year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted. This is equivalent to the same amount produced in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time,1 in every 7 people in the world go to bed hungry and more than 20,000 children under the age of 5 die daily from hunger.  

If food is wasted, it means that all the resources and inputs used in the production of all the food are also lost. For example, it takes about 1,000 litres of water to produce 1 litre of milk and about 16,000 litres goes into a cow’s food to make a hamburger. The resulting greenhouse gas emissions from the cows themselves, and throughout the food supply chain, all end up in vain when we waste food.

Follow these tips to reduce your “foodprint” and food bill!Making informed decision therefore means,that you purposefully

Select foods that have less of an environmental impact, such as organic foods that do not use chemicals in the production process. 

Choose to buy local which can also mean that foods are not flown halfway across the world and therefore limit emissions.

    

Go vegetarian atleast once a week.

Plant a vegetable garden.

Cook food with care, serve just enough,use what is left.

Buy food with a thought. Do not buy more food than you need to avoid food wastage.

Request smaller portions at restaurants.

 

Avoid excess food packaging.

Avoid plastic bottles.

Don’t litter.

Finally the Three Rs

Reuse unwanted item where possible instead of disposing them

Reduce food wastage by buying more efficiently.

Recycle any leftover food,use your creativity.

So think before you eat and help save our environment!