UAE has a smart plan to tackle food waste

Not many people realize that the first step towards food security begins at home. Families and communities are buying and consuming more food than they need, which is putting a strain on global production in troubled regions around the world that are finding it hard to cope with rising demand. One-third of the food that we produce is being discarded. What we waste can feed 800 million people and stave off global hunger. Startling statistics indeed. There’s more. In the UAE, Dh6 billion worth of food is thrown away every year. The government has, therefore, stepped in and is serious about creating awareness among people to curb this practice. The President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is clear that the country must reduce food loss and wastage through social and personal responsibility. Home-grown solutions are often the best way to avert global crises, and the UAE is showing how it can be done with the President leading by example. Work towards this mission began in 2020, during the peak of the Covid pandemic, and is gaining steam as the world confronts issues on multiple fronts.

A global hunger crisis is staring at us and the scarcity of essential products is being compounded by the ongoing Covid pandemic, oil price hikes, Russia-Ukraine conflict, and climate change. Both global supply chains and agriculture have been hit. Russia and Ukraine are among the top producers of wheat, with China and India taking the first two spots. China, India, and Russia produce 41 per cent of the world’s wheat crop. The United States comes fourth. With countries first divided on vaccines and now over Russia and Ukraine, there’s little appetite at the international policy level to curb inflation and ensure supplies are adequate for every person’s nutritional needs. With heatwaves adding to the mix, there’s major trouble brewing on food prices and the costs of essentials.

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