Take Control: 67% of Food Waste Starts at Home

Despite having no control over supply-chain waste, Indian households discard 67% of their food. Poor planning, cultural habits, and stigma around leftovers fuel the crisis.

Dear Reader, from my article last week, we learned about wastage and loss of food throughout the food supply chain. Almost 40% of the total food is wasted in this food supply chain. As the common and retail consumers, we do not have any hold or control over this 40% wastage in the food supply chain. But then, what about the remaining 60%? Let us try and understand. Wasting food happens at the household level, during big-fat and not-so-big-fat weddings, festivals, and other celebrations like birthday parties and social events, and in hotels and restaurants. However, according to a survey conducted by the Indian Institute of Public Administration, Indian households in general waste about 67% of food! Some common factors responsible for this food wastage at the household level are as follows.

1. Buying food in bulk to avail of retailer discounts like “Buy One, Get One Free”. But all that is thus bought only partially gets consumed, and then the remaining portion of food becomes waste.
   

2. In many households, food is cooked in excess due to improper or poor planning. So, there is always a portion of food that is left over. If this excess food is cooked in the morning, members of the household deny eating such leftover food for dinner. They need freshly cooked food for lunches and dinners! In many households, family members believe that the leftover food becomes ‘stale’ even if it remains in the kitchen overnight or for a day. Such an attitude results in discarding food in a dustbin even though that food is still fit for human consumption.
   

3. It is a ‘tradition’ in many families to leave some portions of food, like half-eaten chapati or morsels of ‘dal-chaval’ or sabji, on the plate just for the heck of it!  Such people even boast of this act and feel proud of it. Many of them consider that discarding the food in the trash is a ‘prestige issue’ or a ‘status symbol’! 
   

4. Perceiving small amounts of food waste is inevitable. In many Indian households, excess food is put out for stray dogs or cows, which is perceived as a kind act but also creates problems of public hygiene. We have domesticated these animals, but the food that we cook and process using different recipes is not the natural food of these animals. In other words, we sometimes fail to see food waste as a problem that needs solving.

5. There are conflicting beliefs about how to properly store food, including how long different items can be safely kept. Many households lack clear guidance on refrigeration and shelf life, leading to the premature discarding of perfectly edible food. Misinformation or uncertainty around storage contributes significantly to unnecessary waste.
   

6. Perceptions that processed foods are nutritionally inferior are also a factor contributing to the wastage of food. Overall, this perception favours both health and the environment. Many processed foods do not have enough micronutrients and contain a surfeit of salt, fat, and sugar. But a rigid opposition to processed foods also rules out some healthy options.
   

7. Also implicated in household food waste is an aversion to eating refrigerated food, based on perceptions that food that’s been in the fridge is somehow ‘stale.’ However, contrary to this belief, properly refrigerated food can last for weeks if the refrigerator is well-maintained.

   
   

Well, friends, our homes are not the only places where the wastage of food occurs. There are a few more sources that I will highlight in my next article. Until then, have a nice weekend.

(The author is an environmentalist.)