Government to ensure storage facilities and food waste management system : PEW

Lahore : The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Sunday said despite severe problem of food security tonnes of food is daily wasted in the country.

Government should ensure proper storage facilities and food waste management system in the country to overcome losses, it said.

Food is wasted in all the countries of the world which if saved through intervention can eradicate hunger from the globe, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW.

He said that food grown over 1.4 billion hectares, an area larger than China, is wasted annually which also lay waste to all the investment.

He said that wastage of food also waste all efforts and around 250 cubic kilometres of water stoking global food insecurity and hunger.

Dr. Murtaza Mughal said that 800 million people in the world go hungry every day, nearly 100 million tonnes of Europe’s food is wasted each year that is no longer bearable therefore food services industry should be improved.

He demanded of the government that management and logistics systems for food and food waste should be improved in cities which are centres of consumption that are also expanding with an alarming pace.

A legislation is needed to bar hotels and supermarkets from throwing away food and give it to needy, he said, adding that government and private sector can establish food banks and initiate food recovery programmes to benefit the poor.