We’re often asked not to waste food. We’re also asked to think about hungry kids who are starving to death every day. But do we ever stuff ourselves more, just because we are thinking about them?

India produces enough food to feed the entire country every day, but not everyone can afford food like we do. Such luxuries don’t come easy. Besides, we are also wasting 67 million tonnes of it every year, according to a government study.

67 million is more than the national output of countries like Britain. Also, it is more than enough to feed an entire Indian state for a year.

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Under the National Food Security Programme, the government feeds nearly 600 million destitute people every year. But the value of the food lost is INR 92,000 crore, which is nearly two-thirds of what it costs the government.

A study conducted by Ciphet, the farm ministry’s harvest-research body, revealed that fruits, vegetables, and pulses are wasted the most — the main drivers of food inflation. Tonnes and tonnes of food are dumped, thrown, or held until rotten.

Gluts, pests, weather and lack of modern storage are the other reasons for wastage.

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Apart from that, a lot of food is also wasted during transportation. For instance, one million tonnes of onions vanish on their way from farms to markets, as do 2.2 million tonne tomatoes. Overall, 5 million eggs crack or go bad due to lack of cold storage.

Such stats really get one concerned over the structure of strategies and policies that focus on increasing output and food management after that, especially the technology used to preserve it.