Redaksie | Editorial
Tog staan gemeenskappe, individue en regerings
steeds apaties teenoor hierdie gegewes. Vermorsing is
deel van ‘n bose kringloop waaraan die landbou ook
‘n groot aandeel het. So byvoorbeeld is die verlies aan
water wat vir die produksie van voedsel wat uiteindelik
vermors word, ‘n skandalige 250 km³ terwyl 1.4
biljoen hektaar grond sowat 28% van die wêreld se
totale landbougrond) gebruik word vir voedsel wat
uiteindelik verlore gaan of vermors word.
T
here is an expression that says, “Waste not,
want not”. When we scrape off our dishes after a large meal, too full to finish the remaining scraps on our plate, we rarely pause and
think about the significance of our action. It seems routine to us: if we have leftover food scraps that are unfit
for eating, shouldn’t they be thrown in the garbage?
Our routine practices, unfortunately, make it difficult
for us to conceptualize the magnitude of global food
waste. The problem is bigger than we think.
Volgens ‘n onlangse verslag deur UNEP en die Wêreld
Hulpbronne Instituut (WRI) gaan een derde van alle
voedsel wat wêreldwyd geproduseer word ter waarde
van sowat US$1 triljoen, in produksie en verbruikerstelsels verlore. Omgesit in kalorieë beteken dit dat
omtrent 1 uit 4 kalorieë wat vir verbruik bestem was,
nooit verbruik word nie. In ‘n honger wêreld met
wispelturige pryse en sosiale onrus, is hierdie feite nie
net skokkend nie, dit is verregaande vir sover dit die
omgewing, moraliteit en die ekonomie betref.
Elke jaar vermors verbruikers in ontwikkelde lande
omtrent soveel voedsel as wat die netto voedselproduksie van sub-Sahara Afrika in totaal is (222
miljoen teenoor 230 miljoen ton).
The amount of food lost and wasted every year is equal
to more than half of the world’s annual cereals crops
(2.3 billion tons in 2009/10). In the USA, organic waste
is the second highest component of landfills, which are
the largest source of methane emissions whilst 20-40%
of the food supply is wasted, equaling more than 9kg
of food per person per month.
However, it is not only doom and gloom. We can still
make a difference and many initiatives are currently
running worldwide to address the problem. The drive
towards reduce, re-use and recycle is gaining momentum and our subsequent primary theme for this edition of Agri Kultuur/Culture is also aimed at providing
some ideas of what can be done in this respect. Fact
is, we need a mind shift change, a new approach
which can only be fostered by being conscious. Before
wasting anything, stop and think: Reduce, re-use, recycle, repurpose
I conclude with the words of Tristram Stuart: “We, the
people, do have the power to stop [the] tragic waste
of resources if we regard it as socially unacceptable to
waste food.”
Till next time,
Chris