Cover Feature
Polyolefins addressing the global food challenge With a global population currently at about 7 billion and expected to expand to 11 billion by the middle of this century, we are going to have a lot of mouths to feed. Hence, there is an urgent need to focus on zero wastage of food. Borouge, provider of polyolefin solutions, is addressing the food challenge through its innovative solutions that are able to reduce food loss and water wastage and improve farming productivity.
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SEPTEMBER 2014
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ccording to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the world must close a 70% “food gap” between the amount of food produced today (based on crop calories) and that most likely needed by midcentury. Already today there is unnecessary wastage and significant shortage of food and we need to address these challenges with a sense of urgency if we want to ensure there is sufficient food for the generations to come. At the same time, agriculture faces challenges due to changing economic and environmental trends including climate change, biofuel expansion, slowing agricultural yields, rising meat demand and ever increasing calorie intake from a growing global middle class. It is estimated that by 2050, about 70% of the global population will be urban, compared to 50% today. The rapid urbanisation of society away from farms and agricultural heartlands means that we require increased appreciation for the value of food and effective food chain management systems to ensure that food is efficiently transported from where it is grown and produced to where it is consumed, with a focus on zero waste. Wasted food The FAO estimates that well over 32% of all food produced in the world was lost or wasted in 2009, based on weight. In developing countries this is as high as 50%. When converted into calories, global food loss and waste amounts to approximately 24% of all food produced, which means that one out of every four food calories intended for human consumption is ultimately lost. This significant Wastage of food includes supermarket bulkunnecessary wastage is taking buying that can be contained by governments place at various stages of the food chain, from the farm to the kitchen table, and needs to be addressed through improved farming techniques, innovative advanced packaging solutions and increased public awareness. Poor human behaviour as well as the trend towards supermarket bulk-buying in developed societies contribute to an increase of waste, and this post-consumer wasted food, which mainly makes its way to landfills, contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. Governments should be encouraged to develop food loss and waste measurement protocols and set food loss and waste reduction targets. For example, the European Union has announced a target of reducing food loss and waste by 50% by 2050. A great deal of food loss in developing countries happens “close to the farm,” so in addition to consumer, retail and supply chain changes, we also need to work hard at researching and implementing actions that minimise post-harvest losses.