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| Food being thrown in bin |
London: As much as half of all the food produced in the world, up to
2 billion tons, goes to waste every year, a new report claims.
The study, by Britain's Institution of Mechanical Engineers
(IME), says the "staggering" amount of wasted food never reaches a
human stomach as varied as inadequate infrastructure and storage facilities
through to overly strict sell-by dates, buy-one-get-one free offers and
consumers demanding cosmetically perfect food.
The IME report also blames "poor engineering and
agricultural practices," faulty infrastructure, and poor storage
facilities.
Among countries that once belonged to the Soviet Union, the
wastage is highest in Ukraine, with between 25 to 50 percent losses, or about 6
to 12 million tons of grains annually.
The study also found that in Britain up to 30 percent of
vegetables go unharvested because of their physical appearance.