By Krobea Asante Tofepa Ntomentwene:
A campaign against food wastage to ensure everybody eats before going to bed has been launched yesterday in Accra at the International Press Center. Speaking to journalists at the event, founder of Food for All Ghana, Mr. Elijah Amoo Addo revealed that even though, world food production has increased sustainably in the past century, there is increase in the number of malnourished people.
‘Statistics show that, a staggering 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted globally annually. Meanwhile, 1.5 million children die every year of hunger even when nearly 40% of food produced is never eaten,’ Mr. Addo asserted. ‘In Africa for instance, up to 66% of our food produced by the farmer gets spoilt before it is sold,” he added.
UNICEF Ghana reported in 2015 that out of every 4 children, 1 goes to bed hungry. 30% of Ghanaians do not get enough food to eat and over 45% of food is wasted whiles vulnerable people like the orphans, prisoners, widows, street children, among others sleep for days without food.
The effect is that rotten food in landfills emits methane gasses into the atmosphere thereby affecting climate conditions. Most food products wasted in Ghana’s food supply chain are perfectly edible. France recently passed a law that admonishes supermarkets from throwing away or destroying unsold foods but instead to donate to charities and food banks.
President of Food and Beverages Association, Mr. Samuel Atto Aggrey also stressed that people desist from throwing away food they cannot eat at weddings, parties, engagements, funerals etc so that the left over can be repackaged for other’s who are less privileged.
The Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, World Food Programme, WFP, Zero Hunger challenge and the U.S Government are recently leading global campaigns on food wastage and Ghana must equally pay attention to the economic and environmental impact of food wastage in the country.
In view of this, the clarion call is for all to help in attaining the UN SDG Sustainable Goal 2 which is zero hunger and Goal 12 which is responsible consumption and production by 2030.
Source: ritefmonline.org
