News
Wednesday, June 05, 2013
World Environment Day: food insecurity — real or fake?By Amar Guriro
KARACHI: Five teenagers, attired in grubby clothes, were scavenging through garbage for food when they caught sight of a heap of eatables, including Biryani, chicken pieces and bread slices disposed off just beside a wedding hall.
They heaved a sigh of relief, for their wish was granted.
Such sights are not uncommon in the largest metropolis of the country. As Society for Protection of Rights of Child (SPARC) states; there are more than 25,000 street children in the city. However, the United Nations Children’s Fund estimated the presence of around 10,000 street children, while an independent source estimated some 23,000 homeless people in Karachi including 14,000 street children along city streets.
Every year, on June 5, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) marks World Environment Day, to increase awareness about key environmental issues, which are affecting natural resources, livelihoods and the future of humanity.
On Wednesday (Today) nations around the world will be observing Global Environment Day themed “Think, Eat, Save”.
“I have three friends and we all live together beneath a bridge near Cantonment Railway Station, as we have no home, we scavenge for our meals,” said a street child, Ishfaq. He said some times when there is a strike in the city, or law and order situation deteriorates, hotels and wedding halls are closed, and we spend the night on an empty stomach.
Every year 1.3 billion tonnes, which is equal to the amount of food produced in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa, is wasted, according to UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)’s study, which further states that one in every seven people in the world sleeps hungry, and more than 20,000 children under the age of 5 die everyday from hunger.
In Karachi, there is no official data available about the total number of wedding halls and the number of hotels, nor any details about the quantity of food they dispose at garbage dumps.
Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) the custodian of environment and natural resources in the province, sometimes issues notices to these wedding halls not for wasting food but for contributing to pollution. One of the notices, acquired by this scribe, states that disposal of foodstuff accumulates in the shape of solid waste which attracts stray and wild animals, causing inconvenience
Deputy Director Public Awareness Section of SEPA, Mujtaba Baig said the day was being observed for communities to act, not the government departments. “We are observing the day by arranging a seminar on the issue on Wednesday (today),” he said.
Disposing garbage causes pollution, adding his department could not do anything to stop the hotels or wedding hall managements from throwing food at garbage dumps. “It depends on the eating habits; if a person stuffs his plate with more-than-required food then it’s certain the remaining meal will be discarded. In this regard, we need to start mass awareness campaigns among the masses to reduce foodprint,” he said.
However, Muhammad Moazzam Khan, Technical Advisor (Marine Fisheries) WWF-Pakistan said, “Pakistan is comparatively better in terms of saving food, except what is wasted in marriages and other mass gatherings, otherwise at homes we are not a food-wasting nation,” he said.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk