Tackling Food Waste: SA’s role in fighting climate change
As we mark World Environmental Health Day on 26 September, the link between food loss and waste and climate change takes centre stage. While climate action is urgent on many fronts, one major contributor often overlooked is food waste, and the copious amounts of dangerous methane it emits into the atmosphere. Globally, a staggering one-third of all food produced goes to waste, contributing significantly to climate change.
When food waste decomposes in landfills, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide. Shockingly, food loss and waste are responsible for about 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
In South Africa, the problem is particularly alarming, with over 10 million tonnes of mostly edible food wasted each year due to various supply chain dynamics. The environmental cost is immense, with resources like water, land, energy, and labour being wasted alongside the food itself.
FoodForward SA (FFSA), a national non-profit, is tackling this issue head-on. Their innovative food banking model recovers good quality, edible surplus food from farmers, manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers before it ends up in landfills. This surplus food is then redistributed to local non-profits across the country such as creches, shelters, rehab centres, aged care facilities, and orphans and vulnerable children.
By redirecting perfectly good food away from landfills, FFSA not only reduces waste but also slashes the environmental impact of food disposal. In the past year, FFSA’s efforts have saved 113,152 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions — the equivalent of taking over 88,000 cars off South Africa’s roads for a year. For every tonne of food they recover, they prevent 5.2 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
“As our population grows, so will the demand to produce more food. Instead, our efforts must focus on food systems transformation and using our resources more wisely and reducing waste upstream and downstream across the food system,” says Andy Du Plessis, Managing Director of FFSA. “Combating climate change through solutions like food banking is critical to building a sustainable future for people and planet.”
As South Africa grapples with rising food insecurity, FFSA’s work highlights that fighting food waste is not just about feeding people—it is about taking meaningful action to combat climate change.