It was a photo that got the world’s attention when it was published in 1993 in the New York Times. It showed a little girl, starved and fatigued, trying to drag herself to a nearby UN feeding centre, and a vulture sitting a little away from the kid. It seemed as if the bird was waiting for the girl to die so that it could feed on her. Kevin Carter was the photographer, who shot the picture in Sudan during the great famine.
The photo won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography but the photographer killed himself a few months later. Though it was said that Carter committed suicide as a result of depression over not being able to help the girl, that has not been confirmed.
However, it is a fact that the photograph shook the whole world. Thousands wrote and contacted the Times to know if the girl survived, but no one knew her whereabouts. And most importantly the image has been used globally to highlight the importance of food, reducing food wastage and the innumerable deaths caused by starvation.
You will be shocked to know that in Europe 60-110 kg of food is wasted by a citizen in a year and in the USA, 95-115 kg and in developing countries, 6-11 kg It is more shocking to learn that 920 million people the world over go hungry and a third of them are children. That is the irony. In a country like ours where several lakhs go without food, we waste 40 per cent of our food according to the UNDP – United Nations Development Program. And Indiacivic — an internet community — states that the food wastage implies wastage of water, electricity and labour; in terms of money the loss is a massive `58,000 crore. Quoting a study done in 2013 by Bhook — an organisation that strives to alleviate hunger — the website elaborates that almost 20 crores of Indians remain hungry every night and 7 million children have lost their lives due to food shortage and starvation.
Food wastage may be a crime for which there is no punishment by law (some countries have even put into action certain norms like ‘what you don’t eat, you pay’, which have yielded results); food wastage may be a sin for which there is probably no punishment in terms of heaven and hell.
Let us try to bring a little discipline in our lives with regard to food wastage. What we need is a little patience and planning. Let’s learn to cook no more than we need, which should become a habit in due course of time. When on days food becomes excess, eateries, hotels and restaurants can give this away to organisations that serve the poor and needy. Families performing marriages or celebrating birthday can invite organisations who would readily agree to distribute food to the needy. All said and done, unless everyone realises the importance of not wasting our food and the negative impact it has on our country, it will continue.
Governments should act responsibly. Though we produce enough food, we are not able to feed all because we do not manage our food produce or distribution system well. This fact emerges from a study done by the Institute of Mechanical Researchers. It revealed that the quantity of wheat wasted by poor storage is equal to the entire production of wheat of Australia.
In the words of Pope Francis ‘We should all remember, however, that throwing food away is like stealing from the tables of the poor, the hungry! I encourage everyone to reflect on the problem of thrown away and wasted food to identify ways and means that, by seriously addressing this issue, are a vehicle of solidarity and sharing with the needy.’