Think green, Eat wisely, Save lives and the environment

In his message for World Environment Day 2013, United Nations secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon said, "We live in a world of plenty, where food production outstrips demand, yet 870 million people are undernourished and childhood stunting is a silent pandemic. To create the future we want, we must correct this inequity. We must ensure access to adequate nutrition for all, double the productivity of smallholder farmers who grow the bulk of food in the developing world, and make food systems sustainable in the face of environmental and economic shocks."

"The hospitality sector in South Africa can contribute to the reduction in food waste through improved production processes and through greater awareness of waste," adds McManus. According to a Briefing Note by the CSIR's Natural Resources and the Environment, over nine million tonnes of food (177kg/capita), or about 30% of local agricultural production, goes to waste every year in South Africa. The associated cost to society is estimated at over R61.5 billion per annum, or equivalent to 2.1% of South Africa's GDP.

Cultivating waste-consciousness

While the hospitality sector has a significant role to play, the report identifies the largest costs of food waste take place in the food distribution and retail sector (R19.6 billion), followed by the processing and packaging sector (R15.6 billion), and the agricultural production sector (R12.5 billion).

"At a time when as many as 70% of poor urban households in South Africa live in conditions of food insecurity, food waste represents a national crisis and we believe that together with the hospitality and food service industry, meaningful savings in food and their associated costs could be made across the board," says McManus. More accurate production methods and greater awareness of the cost of waste in general could reduce the impacts that the industry has, he adds. He points out that according to the CSIR Report, the highest food waste costs are associated with fruit and vegetables (R22.4 billion), followed by meat (R17.3 billion), and fish and seafood (R7.8 billion), all of which form the backbone of the hospitality and food service sectors' activities.

Having been involved in the implementation and management of resource consumption and production of waste in the hotel sector for the past twelve years, McManus believes that through a systematic approach to procurement, production and waste recovery, the industry can reduce and largely eliminate food waste. "Our experience has shown that each visitor to South Africa creates as much as four kilogrammes of waste a day through, amongst other activities, the production and consumption of food items," says McManus.

In his World Environment Day message, the UN secretary-general indicated that possibly as much as one third of all food produced globally fails to make it from farm to table and that this should not only be regarded as an affront to the hungry, but that it also represents a massive environmental cost in terms of energy, land and water.

For further information on the Heritage Environmental Management Company, go to www.heritagesa.co.za.