5,000 MT of food wasted in Sri Lanka, daily: Amaraweera

Nearly 5,000 metric tons (MT) of cooked and uncooked food is wasted in Sri Lanka every day, and rice has become a politicised word, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said.

The Minister expressed these views while addressing a program held at the Ministry of Environment today to coincide with the International Awareness Day on Food Waste and Food Pollution Reduction.

"According to the World Food and Agriculture Organisation, it is revealed that about one third of the world's food produced for human consumption is wasted. That amount is 1.3 billion tons in a year. About 40 percent of the food produced by the crops in our country is wasted, and about 5,000 metric tons of cooked and uncooked food is thrown away as garbage every day, " he said.

According to the Minister, the country is suffering a significant economic loss as a result of this situation. Most countries in the world have paid attention in this regard.

Therefore, we have a target of reducing food waste by 50 per cent by the year 2030. About 820 million people in the world are suffering from hunger, the Minister said. 

Even though enough food is being produced for the people of the world, a large number of people have lost their food because of the improper distribution.

The global economic waste caused by food waste is estimated to be $939 billion, he said.

"There are a number of factors that contribute to food wastage. Not processing food properly due to animal damage, failure to purchase the harvest properly from the farmers, and some improper storage also destroys food. High food consumption in the world as well as in our country is also a cause of food waste," the Minister said.

"Today is the season to talk more about rice. Our country, which was considered as the granary of the East, has today become a politicised word for rice. The reason for all this is scarcity, " he said. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)