Does food waste have an impact on our biodiversity? INTRODUCTION As you know food is something humans need, food is cooked all over the world, but little do you know half of the food cooked is wasted this is how everyday large amount of food waste is created, food waste is now one of the major problems on earth and has a huge impact on our biodiversity. Most of the food waste comes from households also sometimes food waste is created in the transportation of food, and leftovers in restaurants, and the fact that most people don’t know where all their food waste goes. Food waste refers to food appropriate for human consumption being discarded, whether or not after it is kept beyond its expiry date or left to spoil. Often this is because food has spoiled but it can be for other reasons such as oversupply due to markets, or individual consumer shopping/eating habits. Food waste is a problem because it costs Americans billions of dollars in lost revenue, puts a tax on natural and human resources, and harms the environment by contributing to global warming and climate change when food waste is added to landfills and produces the greenhouse gas methane Food waste refers to food that goes uneaten. Many factors contribute to wasted food. While the food you toss in the trash at the end of a meal is one of them, it is not the only one. Substantial food waste can occur before the food reaches retail and consumer levels from weather issues, processing problems, storage issues, transportation difficulties, and overproduction. Other common causes of the food waste problem occur in restaurants and establishments where food is discarded after sitting on a buffet or thrown away from serving large portions to consumers. Causes Biodiversity refers to the full spectrum of life across different species and kinds of organisms in an environment of eco-system. For rearing or growing livestock deforestation is done. This affects our natural flora and fauna. When there is an increase in the population of livestock, more natural land is turned into pastures. The more the livestock graze on land more it becomes non-arable. The land becomes less natural and diverse. Marine fishes are caught in large quantities not realizing how their decrease in population can affect our Bio-diversity. These fishes are then thrown out by consumers, or rejected by stores just because they don’t meet their quality standards or otherwise left to rot in a truck. Consequences Landfills, garbage, environment. All words come to mind with the issue of food wastage. Food wastage is a problem that affects everyone, and it’s not strictly a human problem either. Over 1.6 billion tonnes of food is thrown away every year, as well as dumped into our oceans. These are actions that are having severe consequences on wildlife and ecosystems worldwide. 1. Climate change The biggest threat to ecosystems, global warming is affecting natural systems at a rate that’s faster than we’ve imagined. Trees that produce the oxygen we breathe are being cut down in favor of land to grow or dispose of food. This is happening whilst landfills that hold decomposing food waste are to producing methane; a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. 2. Wildlife extinction Studies have shown that the majority of food wastage is made up of fruit and vegetables. Food wastage attracts wildlife, which can be harmed by these decaying foods. This affects their numbers, reproduction patterns, and predator-prey relationships. 3. Oceans It is estimated that over 7 billion tons of wasted fishery areas are dumped into the ocean every year. This attracts seagulls in particular, who then feed on this fish. The more seagulls there are, the greater risk there is to local fish and other species, taking the ecosystem out of its natural balance. 5. Food chains Each ecosystem has its unique food chain, made up of a chain of prey and predators. Increased wastage of food can lead to increased numbers of one, which can then put the second in the chain out of balance. The systems in the chain are sensitive, and even the smallest changes can have a ripple effect on an ecosystem, reducing its biodiversity. Global perspective With the advent of the third millennium, production and supply of fooareis one of the greatest global challenges for Humankind. In the midst of the Anthropocene age, the global population has already tripled to a figure of 7.2 billion people in the past 65 years, and it is anticipated to grow to 9.35 billion in 2050. The global burst of the population had given rise to a colossal demand for food that is imbibing the diminishing resources of the world in an accelerating way. In such a dramatic framework, food waste is a shocking and overwhelming global issue. It is estimated that 1.3 billion tons of food with 1.5 quadrillion kcal is wasted globally per year: these figures represent one-third of total weight and one-fourth of the total caloric content of food produced in a year throughout the world It also accounts for releasing 3,300–5,600 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide equivalent) into at the atmosphere; it causes 173 billion cubic meters of water consumption per year; the land required to grow this amount of wasted food is 198 million hectares per year, and it needs annual use of 28 million tons of fertilizers. National perspective INDIANS waste as much food as the whole of the United Kingdom consumes – a statistic that may not be so much indicative of our love of surfeit, as it is of our population. Still, food wastage is an alarming issue in India. Our street and garbage bins, and landfills have sufficient proof to prove it. Weddings, canteens, hotels, social and family functions, and households spew out so much food. According to the United Nations Development Programme, up to 40% of the food produced in India is wasted. About 21 million tonnes of wheat are wasted in India and 50% of all food across the world meets the same fate and never reaches the needy. In fact, according to the agriculture ministry, INR 50,000 crores worth of food produced is wasted every year in the country. Personal perspective Food waste is a very big issue in this world and is now one of the greatest problems. There is a solution and it can be applied to this problem only if the people of this world try to follow the rules and regulations this can help in reduction of food waste that effects our community Conclusion The best way to address food waste is to stop it from happening in the first place — preventing food waste has twice the lifecycle greenhouse gas benefit per ton compared to recycling food. While programs such as composting are preferable to food waste winding up in a landfill, they don’t address the emissions, land, water, pesticides and other threats to wildlife that went into producing the uneaten food Bibliography https://pela.earth/blogs/news/why-is-food-waste-a-problem https://moveforhunger.org/the-environmental-impact-of-food-waste https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/food-waste-harms-climate-water-land-andbiodiversity-new-fao-report https://www.respectfood.com/article/how-food-waste-is-affecting-our-wildlife-andecosystems/ https://www.avristech.com/food-waste-treatment-system/ Romania is working with the World Bank to reach its goals in fighting climate change and striving for low-carbon development. Among the collaboration's objectives are developing an environmental strategy and action plan, identifying carbon-trading opportunities, and building a knowledge base for impact assessment and decision-making. More than 24% of Romania's terrestrial and marine areas are protected, and between 2006 and 2016, carbon emissions from fossil fuel consumption dropped by more than 33%. The level of carbon emissions from fossil fuels and cement production is also down by 26.3%. Industry-related air and water pollution in Romania is linked to acid rain, high greenhouse-gas levels, and industrial runoff into the river system Canada Though only 6.5% of the terrestrial and marine areas are protected in Canada, that's still a lot of area when you take into consideration it is the second largest country on the globe in landmass. The country comprises burgeoning urban areas, the fragile Arctic Circle, and a variety of terrains in between. Environmental achievements include supporting climate-friendly technology leading to energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable urban transportation; reducing greenhouse gas emissions; and providing biodiversity planning and protection for land and sea. Challenges include rapid warming in the formerly frozen-solid north, the impact of air pollution on wildlife, vegetation, water and soil, and acid rain New Zealand Watching "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" movies may be as close as many of us will get to enjoying New Zealand's pristine air, but apparently those sparkling, clean skies are real and not CGI, as evidenced by the 0% of the population exposed to unsafe fine particle air pollution levels. Almost one-third of the terrestrial and marine area is protected, the highest share among the top 15 countries doing the most to protect the environment. New Zealand met targets for reducing greenhouse emissions set under the first Kyoto Protocol, and it has set additional reduction goals for 2020, 2030, and 2050. Still, even if you're doing a great job, there's always room for improvement. The WWF notes that deforestation, soil erosion, and destruction of wildlife habitats continue to be problems. Bibliography LINK, Source evaluation author Published on https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/07/ 14/climate-change-countries-doing-most-least-toprotect-environment/39534413/ this site has carefully researched other countries Elzy Kolb and Samuel Stebbins July 14, 2019 https://pela.earth/blogs/news/why-is-food-waste-aproblem Lomi Compost ers January 12, 2022 Lomi has produced products just to save the biodiversity https://moveforhunger.org/the-environmental-impact-of- Move for food-waste This organization helped several people by hunger providing food. https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/foodwaste-harms-climate-water-land-and-biodiversity-new-fao-report UNEP’s mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. UN Environm ent program me https://www.respectfood.com/article/how-food-waste-is- Arçelik affecting-our-wildlife-and-ecosystems/ A.Ş. 11 Septem ber 2013 2018
