Jagdambika Pal: Minimize food wastage for the sake of our planet and its people
Food loss and waste is a global concern that represents not just economic loss, but also the environmental and food security crisis. To put it into perspective, if food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, surpassing the US and China.
Food waste accounts for nearly 8-10% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions, which is nearly three times the total emissions from the aviation sector. Decaying food emits methane, a greenhouse gas about 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Food production and its inputs emit climate-harming gases too.
Paradoxically, while nearly 20% of all food produced is wasted or lost, around 783 million people are grappling with hunger and about 150 million children under the age of five are suffering from stunted growth due to lack of proper nutrition.
Also Read: Andy Mukherjee: Watch out for food and fuel volatility in India-US trade talks
Tackling food loss and waste is essential for us to address food and nutritional security challenges and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The pressing need to tackle the problem is articulated in India's commitment to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.3, which sets an ambitious target of reducing per capita global food waste at the retail and consumption levels and significantly cutting food loss along supply chains by 2030.
As estimated, even if just a quarter of all the food binned by households globally is edible, the equivalent of 1 billion meals of edible food is being wasted every single day by homes worldwide. The United Nations Environment Programme's Food Waste Index Report 2024 states that up to 17% of food wastage occurs between the retail and consumption levels.
This presents substantial opportunities for targeted intervention at these points, such as sustainable packaging solutions that may prolong the shelf-life of food, thereby providing a practical solution to the issue. We also need to improve infrastructure and include practices to preserve nutritional value and reduce wastage.
Also Read: Food security: Let clean-tech innovation lead the way
While only 21 countries had included food loss or waste reduction in their national climate plans (or Nationally Determined Contributions) by 2022, India has taken great strides to mitigate the same through coordinated measures at every stage of the supply chain by implementing schemes like the PM Kisan Sampada Yojana and production-linked incentive scheme for the food processing industry.
These government programmes focus on modernizing infrastructure, adopting advanced preservation and packaging technologies, reducing wastage and enhancing supply chain efficiency.
Programmes for the creation of backward and forward linkages and the creation of food processing capacities have been designed to drive infrastructural improvements that reduce spoilage and strengthen farm-to-market supply chains. Additionally, the Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure Scheme provides fiscal support for upgradations with the aim of preserving nutritional value, increasing shelf life and raising food quality.
Also Read: Rice fortification can help tackle our problem of hidden hunger
While addressing the crisis we face requires a collaborative approach in favour of a circular economy that integrates sustainable methods in all operations, it is equally important to ensure that food reaches consumers more efficiently. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, up to 30-40% of food production in developing regions is lost before it even reaches the market, largely because of gaps in post-harvest storage, processing and transportation.
Food processing capabilities must be upgraded for food safety and shelf-life extension, among other objectives. Improved storage facilities and eco-friendly packaging are crucial to this endeavour, even as innovative means of food preservation need to be explored. Harnessing the potential of sustainable solutions like aseptic packaging with recyclable and eco-friendly materials would help reduce the ecological footprint of the processed food industry.
Generating awareness among consumers of responsible and eco-friendly practices through public-private partnerships and public campaigns can be of help in this exercise.
Successfully addressing the crisis of food loss and waste needs dedicated efforts by the entire ecosystem of producers, suppliers and consumers. Food loss and waste must be minimized across the supply chain from end to end. By doing so, countries and communities will benefit from increased food security, better access to healthy diets and reduced malnutrition, while decreasing their greenhouse gas footprints.
The author is a member of the Lok Sabha.
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Q) What is your take on Q4 earnings from India Inc.? Any hits and misses which you tracked in the results? A) If we review Q4 earnings, aggregate profit after tax (PAT) for BSE 500 companies grew by 10% Y-o-Y and by 9% for the full FY25. There was sluggish domestic consumption and limited government spending in the first half due to elections and a volatile geo-political environment. This was a big step down from a stellar performance in FY24 that saw a 30% growth. BFSI sector stood out, contributing 1.84 % to the GDP and posted improved profits. Almost all stakeholders in the sector, MNCs, Private firms, Small & Midcap companies performed well. Metals, Telecom, Chemicals and Cement also supported positively to the growth. Certain sectors that showed sluggishness were PSUs, Industrials and IT. FY26 could see a turnaround, we expect the PAT growth to improve in most sectors on account of increase in demand and stability on the global trade front. US tariff wars could see a conclusion and that should bring a much needed respite and decrease volatility. We are bullish on BFSI which will continue to shine and have another good year, Agriculture and Defence is also looking to outshine in FY 26. Q) Nifty Bank hit a record high in June which suggests that there is a lot of interest in banking stocks. What is fueling rally in financials – is it the rate cut by RBI? A) As we discussed earlier, the BFSI sector has stood out in FY25 as an outperformer. Bank Nifty hit a record high in June following earnings growth numbers and a positive outlook for FY26. What was more positive is that we saw broad based growth across all verticals in BFSI. Banking, Wealth, Insurance across small , mid and large cap companies saw increase in earnings. If we look at number, on Y-o-Y basis, there was a 16% increase in PAT, 14% increase in Non-Interest Income, 13% increase in retail advance and 14% increase in MSME advances. These are very healthy numbers across the board. Recent rate cuts by RBI has definitely helped banks by providing excess liquidity but is not the only reason fuelling this rally. RBI rate cuts were as recent as February but we have seen good numbers coming in all through FY 25. Key factors supporting this rally are more on the fundamental side, most banks now have significant revenues coming in from non-interest activities such as wealth and insurance. They are high margin businesses with a huge growth potential. India still underserved and under penetrated when it comes to financial services; hence, there is a significant head room. Banks are sitting on credible data and are able to convert their existing CASA customers by cross selling and thus increasing their revenue per client. On the credit side, the growth cycle is strong and is expected to grow at 13-14% which should continue to support profits. NBFC's credit growth outpaced banks and will continue to do so in FY26. 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Infrastructure and related sectors are also looking bullish, policy support is on their side particularly in the areas of renewable energy and power generation. Big infra companies will continue to benefit from India's growing infra need in Roads, Airports, Dams and Railways. Q) The tonality keeps changing from the US when it comes to 'Trade Talks'. Do you think it is still a relevant headwind for equity markets across the globe? A) In our view, US trade talks were never a major factor for equity markets in India. Yes, they played a role for equity markets across the globe, but for India it never posed a very big problem. There was a lot of stir created early on when the tariff wars started but soon it was realised that it was more of a bargaining stunt to get the stakeholders on the table to negotiate rather than a permanent change of structure in the global trade ecosystem. My only point of concern is FII inflow into our equity markets. While our DIIs have been a major support, we can't ignore the validation that comes from FIIs and the quantum of their capital that ensures Indian equities are in green. Trade Talks create a little uncertainty that results in institutional money being kept at bay, that's the only relevant headwind I think that matters. Q) China equity markets are up in double digits while we have underperformed most EM peers. Does it make a case for global diversification? A) China equity in recent times have outperformed all the other EMs. This is a little ironical seeing how the main target of US trade wars is China, and their companies are facing an uphill battle in case tariffs are increased substantially. I would still refrain from considering the Chinese stock market as an investment destination. The main reason being the opaqueness of the country and the dictatorial laws that can be brought down by the government onto the private sector. Inspite of giving double digit returns, the 3-yr performance of China based Mutual funds is still as low as 2%. For global diversification I think US tech stocks are a better bet. With AI changing the face of computing, I think the biggest beneficiaries will US companies who are the biggest stakeholders. Historically as well, US companies are at the center of every digital / computer revolution that has happened and I don't see why it should be any different now. Q) Which sector(s) is/are looking overheated and why? A) In Indian markets, I think one can be cautious while investing in Auto. FY25 saw a modest growth of 6.4% driven by passenger and two wheelers while the commercial vehicles growth remained flat. We have seen an impressive performance over last 24 months with increased sales across all verticals but going forward I think it's a little over heated. Also, the EV industry is giving the sector some headache, while most auto companies have installed EVE capacities, consumer acceptance of EV is not growing at a desirable pace. Adoption has been slow and due to EV related lack of Infra it is not expected to pick up very soon. We are also expecting a cyclical slowdown in sales, only silver lining are the SUV sales which continue to grow but other passenger vehicles along with two wheelers are looking bleak. ( Disclaimer : Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
