The 2013
theme for World Environment Day chosen by United Nations
Environment Programme (UNAP) is Think.Eat.Save. , with host country
Mongolia. Think.Eat.Save is according UNAP an anti-food waste and food loss
campaign that encourages you to reduce your foodprint. According to the UN Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO), every year 1.3 billion tons 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.
Given this enormous
imbalance in lifestyles and the resultant devastating effects on the environment,
this year’s theme – Think.Eat.Save – encourages you to become more aware of the
environmental impact of the food choices you make and empowers you to make
informed decisions.
While the planet is
struggling to provide us with enough resources to sustain its 7 billion people
(growing to 9 billion by 2050), FAO estimates that a third of global food
production is either wasted or lost. Food waste is an enormous drain on natural
resources and a contributor to negative environmental impacts.
This year’s campaign
rallies you to take action from your home and then witness the power of
collective decisions you and others have made to reduce food waste, save money,
minimize the environmental impact of food production and force food production
processes to become more efficient.
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 liters of water to produce 1 liter
of milk and about 16,000 liters 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.
In fact, the global food
production occupies 25% of all habitable land and is responsible for 70% of
fresh water consumption, 80% of deforestation, and 30% of greenhouse gas
emissions. It is the largest single driver of biodiversity loss and land-use
change.
Making informed decision
therefore means, for example, 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. Choosing to buy locally can also mean that foods are
not flown halfway across the world and therefore limit emissions.
So think before you eat
and help save our environment!
