Rules of Consumption and Climate Change

World leaders have met in Paris to agree on a global agenda for tackling climate change. The food lost n ear the farm or wasted near the fork has a lot to do wi th climate change. The impact of climate change on all aspects of life has formed a large part of environmental studies si nce time immemorial. Around a third of all food pro duced for human consumption is lost or wasted. To put this in perspe ctive, if food loss and waste were its own country, it would be the world’s third-largest emitter—surpassed only by Chi na and the United States. In fact, food loss and wa ste generates more than four times as much annual greenhouse gas emissions as aviation, and is comparable to emissio n from road transport. In short, it’s a big deal. The food wasta ge in India cannot be done away with only by imposi tion of harsh penalties but by increasing mass awareness about th e ill-effects of the same on the climate. On the pr oduction side, there is an urgent necessity to develop our storage and t ransportation facilities so that agricultural yield does not rot. Food wastage is an affront to the right to a healthy env ironment which is premised on the right to live a l ife of dignity. Hence, as a respect for both these rights, food wastage ne ds to be curbed at the earliest.