Food waste far worse than plastic pollution, here's why!

Plastic pollution has been a major factor for climate change but this problem can't be solved without addressing its larger twin; food waste.

As per reports, the United States, China and Brazil are responsible for a staggering 44.6 per cent of all the world’s plastic packaging and the majority of it is wrapped around food.

If we look at the UN data, 20 to 30 per cent of food produced is wasted. Pertinently, that the environmental problems connected to food are larger than the ones plastic packaging causes. The food humans consume is responsible for 21 to 37 per cent of global climate change.

Consumers mostly waste packaged food because it has gone bad or has expired. Plastic packaging is used to preserve food, but it contributes to food waste. Hence, there is a need to consider food and its packaging as a unit.

The issue of food waste cannot be solved in isolation from the issue of plastic packaging. Better serving instructions or smaller packaging could save tonnes of foods from being wasted and therefore reduce food waste. The problems clearly is entwined.

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