Manipur is no stranger to food wastage. Given the practice of feasting and festivities prevalent in every community in the state, the resulting waste of food would be on a major scale. Wastage of food can happen at various stages through the gamut of its production, processing, storage, transportation and consumption. In Manipur, the poor transport and communication systems leads to large scale wastage while the lack of adequate storage and processing facilities render agricultural products that are part of food components useless besides robbing the state of potential finances in return for its export and sale. A 2009 UNEP study states that India loses yearly 23 million tonnes of food cereals, 12 million tonnes of fruits, and 21 million tonnes of vegetables in various stages of food production to consumption. Though there is no comprehensive study that can give a conclusive picture for the state, it would not be wrong to draw parallels with what a recent study by the Indian Institute of Public Administration had to say about the wastage of food during social gatherings in Delhi. The study shows that rising economic prosperity makes people indulge in extravagance during social events and people do not mind throwing away food. For Manipur, the practice of major community feasting practiced by different sections of the population cutting across communities but specifically, the regular practice of ushops presents a huge scope for huge food wastage. The Meitei social eating practice is yet to adapt to the buffet system while the traditional ushop with its code of food servings involving pre seated food items on the plate/meal sitting contributes to a major portion being wasted by one person with the practice of having numerous dishes as the norm in community feasting adding to the burden of waste. While some enterprising people who rear pigs do have an arrangement of collecting food wasted during ushops and other community feasting, the amount of waste of items that go towards preparing the food is not taken into account.
Experts in the sector looking at food production make the point how a practice like wasting of food which can be controlled and addressed go on to add to another major issue confronting the country: that of hunger and malnourishment. The 2012 Global Hunger Index in fact put India in the 15th place from the bottom with the country reporting nearly one-fifth of the country’s total population and 43.5 per cent of under-five children as malnourished. It is obvious from the figures that the amount of food that is wasted can go a long way in stemming the hunger pangs in the country. On the national level, the state of Government run granaries and food godowns leave much to be desired with media reports showing time and again how food grains are rotting away, eaten up by rodents or simply vanishing into the pockets of people involved in the process of public distribution systems of food grains. The same scenario is true at the State level too but also impacted by the regular bout of bands and blockades that impact the delivery of food items. While Government machineries would have to step up its act in terms of plugging in the gaps that exist at the stages of food processing, storage and its transportation, the common man can also step in to plug in and stop food from being wasted at the stage of consumption. This can be done through simple mechanisms or rather practices, starting from cutting down on the number of dishes being served during occasions of community feasting and cutting down on the portion size of servings since additional helpings can always be called for. The older generation may still be unprepared for the more western style of buffet style eating but even with the younger generation, there would need to be some more etiquette lessons required since it is not proper to pile up one’s plates by taking advantage of being ahead in the buffet line. For those not ready to take ownership of the food wastage vis a vis hunger issue, it would bode well to recall the call given by the Food and Agriculture Organization, the U.N. food agency to fight off the demands of food production and growing hunger in the world by including edible insects like grasshoppers, ants and other members of the insect world is most interesting. Those willing to go in for gastronomical experiments are better off but those not so willing to go that far must surely think of the easier way of plugging in the food waste that is taking place.