Water shortages urge major cuts in food waste

STOCKHOLM, Sweden-Leading international water experts warned Thursday that food waste must be halved by 2025 to meet the challenge of feeding the world’s growing population and to preserve global water supplies.

Organizations at a water conference in Sweden said policy makers and businesses have to drastically improve harvesting methods on farms and minimize waste in food processing.

Consumers also must be made aware of the implications of food waste, which consumes large amounts of water that could otherwise be beneficially used in a world that faces water shortages, a report said.

“As much as half of the water used to grow food globally may be lost or wasted,” said David Molden, director of research at the International Water Management Institute.

The report was unveiled at World Water Week, a meeting of 2,500 scientists, politicians and officials from 140 countries who met to discuss global water issues. The United Nations has named 2008 the International Year of Sanitation.

The Stockholm Water Institute said that each year 1.4 million children die from diarrhea-related diseases and poor hygiene. It described the lack of water and poor sanitation as “the world’s largest environmental problem.”

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Source: BusinessWeek

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