As part of the convention’s first technical session focusing on the health of our environment, Melody Melo-Rijk, WWF-Philippines’ Project Manager for Sustainable Consumption and Production, explained the importance of implementing sustainable practices in the food production and consumption sector in order to ensure the reduction of hunger and malnutrition here in the Philippines. “According to the World Food Programme, approximately 842 million people in the world, and 533 million of these people are residing in the Asia and the Pacific region. Closer to home, 2.5 million families here in the Philippines have experienced involuntary hunger at least once in three months. This is a very troubling statistic considering that we are wasting a lot of the food being produced for our consumption every year,” says Melo-Rijk. “Did you know that in Metro Manila alone, we are producing 2,175 tons of food waste daily? Zeroing in on rice, Filipinos actually waste enough to feed 4.3 million people. Because of these, it is no wonder that the current chronic malnutrition rate among Filipino children, particularly those aged 0 to 2, is at 26.2%. Looking at these statistics, we can see that hunger and malnutrition are issues that are directly related to food waste, or the amount of nutritious food that have failed to reach our plates because of unsustainable practices.”

Food waste is fast becoming one of the world’s most pressing issues, not just in terms of human health and nutrition but also taking into consideration the planet’s well-being. As it is, we need the resources of 1.7 Earths in order to sufficiently provide for the current population, and with the continuous growth of this population, it has been estimated that by 2030, we would already be needing 2 Earths to provide quality of life for all. “We need to reduce the food waste we are producing so we can feed people instead of landfills. We have to contribute to the promotion of local and sustainable sourcing. We should efficiently use our resources, such as energy and water. Microplastics are already penetrating our food system, and that is why it is encouraged to refuse single use plastics. People should also be encouraged to lessen their meat consumption and to eat more fruits and vegetables,” says Melo-Rijk. “The Earth is in crisis and people from all over the world are suffering from hunger and malnutrition. We simply cannot continue to stick with the status quo. Governments, private sector players, consumers, and nutritionists-dietitians like us should push for the changes needed in order to improve the overall health of our society.”