Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Africa water, Sanitation May-June2015 Vol. 10 No.3 | Page 23

Food
While substantial environmental impacts from food occur in the production phase (agriculture, food processing), households
influence these impacts through their dietary choices and habits. This consequently affects the environment through foodrelated energy consumption and waste generation.
• 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted every year while almost 1 billion people go undernourished and another 1
billion hungry.
• Overconsumption of food is detrimental to our health and the environment.
- 1.5 billion people globally are overweight or obese.
- Land degradation, declining soil fertility, unsustainable water use, overfishing and marine environment
degradation are all lessening the ability of the natural resource base to supply food.
- The food sector accounts for around 30% of the world’s total energy consumption and accounts for around
22% of total Greenhouse Gas emissions.
• Increased consumption adversely affects food security.
- Increase in food prices.
- Upsurge in production methods that use more resource-intensive food products.
- Resource-intensive foods deplete the agro-ecological resource base, affecting its ability to produce plentiful food.

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Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • May - June 2015