Desperdicio de alimentos en época de crisis
Soluciones a la paradoja
del sistema alimentario global

En América Latina y el Caribe 52 millones de personas pasan hambre y cerca de 9 millones de niños padecen desnutrición crónica, sufriendo daños irreparables en su desarrollo. A partir de la actual problemática por el alza en el precio de los alimentos, distintas líneas de trabajo se están desarrollando para paliar este problema. Además de las propuestas “tradicionales”, hay una medida que puede mejorar de forma rápida y eficaz la disponibilidad total de alimentos: reducir el desperdicio.

Hoy, millones de toneladas de alimentos en buen estado se desperdician cada día en el planeta, cuyo costo se eleva a miles de millones de dólares y muchos otros costos paralelos, desde el precio de su tratamiento en tiraderos hasta su costo para la ecología mundial.

Con esto presente, el proyecto de la Iniciativa América Latina y Caribe sin Hambre ha preparado un breve documento analizando los distintos costos de este enorme desperdicio, su efecto en la economía de las familias, la responsabilidad de los distintos sectores en esta problemática y, principalmente, las posibles soluciones que existen. 

En cada paso de la cadena de agrocomercialización –desde el campo hasta la mesa– se pueden tomar medidas para aprovechar mejor la comida, desperdiciar menos y reciclar los sobrantes.  Un compromiso generalizado es indispensable para proteger el medio ambiente, mejorar la alimentación de las personas y reducir el éticamente injustificable desperdicio de alimentos.

Summary

While 52 million people suffer hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean –9 million of them children– food waste in the world amounts to millions of tons every year.  In Mexico, 20% of all food produced is wasted in the producer-to-consumer process; in Brazil, 64% of all cultivated crops are wasted somewhere in the food chain, 20% in the final households. This happens throughout Latin America.  But in developed countries the numbers are even more concerning: in Britain, 4 million tons of food goes to waste every year, especially fruit and bread, whereas the US losses amount to 45 million tons, much of it in perfect condition. The cost of food waste is also economically important: families in the UK throw away more than 15 billion dollars in edible food, and in the US each household loses around 600 dollars every year.

Discarding this amount of food is a luxury that we cannot afford. In the current food price increase situation, with growing numbers of people starving or undernourished (4.6 million households only in the U.S.), putting in action policies to avoid food waste could be an efficient solution. To contribute to reduce food waste, FAO proposes different actions in each step of the agro-processing chain.

Firstly, during production, companies could optimize their harvesting and industrialization processes, in order to recycle their usual waste and use it as organic fertilizer, animal food, basic oils or packing fibers. Secondly, during the commercialization process, Food Banks should be more extensively supported to avoid wasting edible goods. Municipal governments could play an important role developing compost banks to rescue and recycle byproducts from suppliers. Finally, consumers can reduce waste significantly. By learning techniques to give food a better usage, acquiring good shopping habits (best buy and buy locally-produced goods), taking advantage of home made compost for family orchards and doing food substitution, families could save money, food and contribute to protect the environment.