How Much Food is Wasted in India

Did you know that India wastes about 40% of the food it grows? Even though there is enough food to go around, the UN says that about 190 million Indians are still hungry. The value of wasted food in India is also estimated to be around 92,000 crores per year, and over 67 million tonnes of food are wasted every year. This amount is enough to feed everyone in Bihar for a whole year.

Have you ever thought about how much food our families, communities, country, and the environment waste? People who can get food whenever they’re hungry don’t have to worry about it. But people who can’t even eat one meal a day always wonder if they should have filled their stomachs with all the food that goes to waste around them every day.

Food waste is a big deal for global food security and the environment.  But what, many people are unaware that it also affects a country’s economy. In this post, we’ll show you some figures on food waste in India and how much it impacts people and the economy of the country. 

Food Waste in India 

Food waste is very troublesome in India, and you can see its proof on the streets, especially in trash cans and landfills. The United Nations Development Programme says that up to 40% of the food made in India is wasted and that about 21 million tonnes of wheat are wasted every year.

We don’t even have to look in different places to find out how much food is wasted in the country. During the pandemic of Covid 19, India had a weak supply chain, which led to a lot of waste. Website for food distribution MilkBasket lost 15,000 liters of milk and 10,000 kg of vegetables in one day because of lockdowns. 

Delivery agents were not allowed into communities, so the milk and vegetables were thrown away. Farmers in the Belagavi district of Karnataka dumped a lot of milk into a river because they couldn’t get to their customers because of the lockdown. 

These are some of the examples of food waste in India. Now let’s glance over some interesting ones that represent how much food we waste and how much we consume.

Food Waste Statistics

The Food Waste Index 2021 says that we wasted 931 million tonnes of food in 2019. On top of that, 61% of the food waste came from households, 26% from food services, and 13% from retail. This means that each Indian wastes 50 kg of food per year. You might be surprised to know that Indian households waste the second most food globally. 

Every year, about 21 million metric tonnes of wheat rot in India. This number is the same as Australia’s gross national product for a year. According to old BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) data from 2018, Mumbai makes almost 9,400 metric tonnes of solid waste every day. Of that, 73% is waste from dairy, vegetables, and fruits, while only 3% is plastic. National Delhi also makes about 9,000 metric tonnes of trash every day, and East Delhi has a giant dump in the area.

According to the Food Waste Index Report 2021, each person in India throws away a shocking 50 kg of food every year. Most of this extra food waste ends up in landfills, creating potent greenhouse gases that are bad for the environment. However, govt has introduced different ways for Trash Removal; it can only affect if we stop food waste.

Economic Effect of Food Waste

Food waste harms the environment and impacts the nation’s economy. An FAO ( Food and Agriculture Organization) study found that about one-third of all food made for human consumption is lost or wasted. The cost of this food pollution to the economy is about $1 trillion per year, which is a lot.

Wrapping Up

With the above discussion, you’ll get to know how food waste is impacting the environment and economy, and human life. Because the fact is we don’t think twice before throwing food away. Your thrown food ends up in drains or landfills, which later leads to causing pollution.

Before wasting food or throwing it away, take a second and think about some people who work hard day and night to get one day’s meal. You can share your food with them before throwing it. You share your food at Upyogya, which is the leading food sharing app in India; it is a perfect place where you can share and sell your food with others at a lower cost and can help people in need.