WHILE having our meals three times a day, we hardly think about the efforts and hard work that goes into producing, growing and preparing food. This is the reason we never bother about food wastage. If we look at a restaurant’s waste dump, we would know how much food gets wasted without any reason. About 36 million tonnes of food is wasted in Pakistan annually which contributes to the prevailing poverty in society.

Pakistan produces various food commodities and also exports a large portion of its produce to other countries. Currently, the production of mung bean, also known as the green gram, has increased and the country has become self-sufficient in this crop.

This happened because of the struggle of agri-scientists who developed better varieties with scientific evidence, and the farmers, who worked day and night to feed us. They work hard from sowing to harvesting which sometimes remains unpaid, even unacknowledged.

Furthermore, food processing takes place in factories where food technologists convert raw crops into fancy edibles. After such a long chain of events marked by intellectual and physical labour as well finances, we are able to find food on our tables, and what a crime it is to then just dump it, or a part of it, in the waste bin.

We, as a nation, must ensure food security to make it accessible to all people with better distribution and humane approach. This should be our primary goal.

Seemab Kausar Chichawatni

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2021