2012info.ca Earth Watch

World Water Week demands halt to food wastage

E&E News: (August 27, 2008) Scientists and experts from around the world have warned that global food wastage must be halved by 2025 to meet the challenges of feeding the rapidly-growing population and preserving global water supplies.

Continued high rates of food overproduction and waste will not only cause food but also water shortages, according to a report by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

The study, entitled ‘Saving Water: From Field to Fork — Curbing Losses and Wastage in the Food Chain’, was presented during World Water Week, which wrapped up on 22 August in Stockholm.

It warns that “tremendous quantities of food are discarded in processing, transport, supermarkets and people’s kitchens,” adding: “This wasted food is also wasted water.” In the US, up to 30% of food, worth some $48.3 billion, is thrown away each year, it notes, pointing to similar levels of waste in Europe.

“That’s like leaving the tap running and pouring 40 trillion litres of water into the garbage can - enough water to meet the household needs of 500 million people,” the report laments.

Global food needs are expected to roughly double by 2050. At the same time, dwindling oil reserves and increasing concerns about climate change are leading countries to invest heavily in biomass — meaning land for food production is also getting scarcer. What’s more, as countries like China and India get richer, demand for more water-intensive agricultural products, such as beef and bioenergy, is increasing.

Food prices have already begun to soar in recent months, causing riots in a number of poor countries, including Haïti, Mexico, Egypt, Morocco and Senegal. Furthermore, an estimated 1.2 billion people already live in areas where there is not enough water to meet demand, causing death, illness and disease related to bad sanitation.

“Weak policy, poor management, increasing waste and exploding water demands are pushing the planet towards the tipping point of global water crisis,” warned the report, calling on governments to place an effective water-saving strategy, requiring that food wastage be minimised, firmly on the political agenda.

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Security Council condemns latest missile tests by DPR Korea

UN News Centre: 6 July 2009 – The Security Council today condemned the ballistic missile tests conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) over the weekend, saying they violate Council resolutions and pose a threat to regional and international security. Ambassador Ruhakana Rugunda of Uganda, which holds the rotating Council presidency this month, read out a statement to journalists this evening saying that the 15-member panel had “expressed grave concerns” following the reported tests off the DPRK coast on 4 July.

Mr. Rugunda said Council members – which held consultations on the issue this afternoon – reiterated that the DPRK must comply with their obligations under all resolutions, including resolution 1874, which was adopted unanimously last month in response to a recent nuclear test by Pyongyang.

That resolution imposed a series of measures on the DPRK that include tougher inspections of cargo suspected of containing banned items related to the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile activities, a tighter arms embargo with the exception of light weapons and new financial restrictions.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had welcomed the resolution and called on Pyongyang to engage in dialogue, including through the Six-Party Talks that brings together the DPRK, the Republic of Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the United States.

Mr. Rugunda said Council members appealed to all parties to refrain from any actions that might escalate the situation, and reiterated their commitment to a peaceful, diplomatic solution to the issue.

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EarthNews 2009-06-26 11:16:33

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