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39
year to produce food that is wasted. Food loss and waste are
therefore not only about lost calories for human consumption,
but also about the loss of resources put into growing food that
isnever consumedaswell as the degradationof the ecosystems
throughout the food supply chain. It takes between 5 000 to
20 000 litres of water to produce one kilogramme of meat. If
meat is never consumed, the water used to produce the meat
is wasted (Lundqvist
et al.
2008).
Some agricultural practices threaten biodiversity, causing
land conversion processes such as deforestation. About
80 per cent of deforestation is due to agricultural expansion
(Kissinger
et al.
2012). Estimates from the FAO (2013b)
suggest that 66 per cent of threats to species are due to
agriculture. Further, about 28 million tonnes of fertilizers
are used annually to produce food that is lost and wasted
(Lipinski
et al.
2013), which may cause eutrophication of
nearby water ecosystems. On the larger scale, food loss and
waste are causing significant greenhouse gas emissions along
the food supply chain (FAO 2013b) and therefore become a
contributor to climate change. Food waste in landfill sites,
for example, produces methane gas, which is 25 times more
potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas (FAO 2012c).
Food loss thus degrades the vital base that food production
relies on, decreasing the ecosystem’s productivity and hence
its ability to produce high yields.
Further, degradation of ecosystems, through soil erosion,
salinization and chemical and biotic stresses is blamed for
losses in potential food yields. Soil erosion, which is the most
common form of land degradation, is responsible for an annual
loss of topsoil on about 10 million hectares of cropland globally,
a rate that is 10 to 40 times greater than the rate of soil renewal
(Pimentel 2006). Using conservative average yields of grain,
climatologist Bo R. Döös (1994) estimated that at least 5 million
tonnes in grain production could be lost every year due to the
loss of topsoil on 10 million hectares of agricultural land through
erosion. Such losses in potential food production are significant
given that humans get the majority of their food calories from the
land (Pimentel 2006). A rough estimate suggests that the losses
can cover the annual calorie needs of 24 million people.
4
Salinization, which results in the accumulation of salts in
the soil, is common on irrigated lands and results in the
abandonment of as much as 2 million hectares of land in
the world per year (FAO 1991). This loss of agricultural land
could result in food grain losses of 3 million tonnes per year
(Döös 1994) enough to feed 14.3 million people annually.
5
Salinization is a major problem in low-lying coastal areas
4 & 5. Estimates of additional people to be fed are based on findings
from Döös (1994), average calories from cereals, as well as average daily
calorie needs for people.
Latin America
and the
Caribbeans
Developed
countries
Asia
Sub-Saharan
Africa
Oceania
North Africa
Other
Sugars
Fats and oils
Animal-source foods
Fruits and vegetables
Pulses
Roots and tubers
Cereals
3 500
3 000
2 500
2 000
1 500
1 000
500
0
1992-1997
2007-2009
Contributions to total
dietary energy supplies
Kilocalories per day
Diet composition
Source: FAO, The State of Food Insecurity in the World, 2012