Bullish on India | What food sustainability and upcycling food waste will look like in India by 2047

Bangalore-based chef, food researcher and upcycler Elizabeth Yorke; go imaginative with leftover food, such as rajma on toast. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Between 30 and 40 per cent of food is wasted everyday in India. These are estimates from Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation, respectively. In per capita terms, that’s about 50 kg per person per year, and a staggering total of about 70 million tonnes annually.

There are more dismaying numbers: India is ranked 94th in the Global Hunger Index in a list of 107 countries, and an estimated 200 million people are undernourished or malnourished. But here is the greatest irony: there is enough food to go around, the problem is of access — both physical and economic, and because the food produced is not treated well.

While tackling waste before reaching the consumer is a monumental task that requires macro policies and strategies, targeted upcycling of food waste through micro upcycling kitchens is much more doable. Ask Bangalore-based chef, food researcher and upcycler Elizabeth Yorke. Her initiative, Saving Grains, upcycles beer waste generated by breweries into healthy ‘good flour’ that is used in making such products as crackers, cookies, bread, rotis and even laddus.

“I hope we are not talking about food sustainability in 2047. Ideally, it should be something so integrated in our food system that we don’t have to think of being sustainable or being conscious of our food decisions. By 2047, I would like to think of it as something that is the norm, already integrated and part of the system,” Yorke says.

In Yorke’s vision, such change, such integration is possible when individuals ask hard and fundamental questions. “A couple of year ago, I asked myself ‘what does sustainability mean to me in a broader context?’ Apart from environmental and social and financial sustainability, it could also mean nurture and care. Like who feeds us, who feeds those who feed us, how do I care for others through food, how can food spaces nurture food citizenship, who is nourishing me and how am I nourishing my body and mind. It could also mean culinary confidence, it could mean what is my value as a chef in society, how do I grow my knowledge of food biodiversity, just being curious and trying to understand how things work and how things. I guess all these are attributes of a sustainable food system, where we are thinking and being conscious about how we are consuming. In 2047, I hope these are all part of our system and not something that has to be implemented,” she points out.

According to Yorke, the change has to start at the thinking and perception level. “The common narrative is that it’s alright to prepare more because the excess can easily be given off to someone who is not the first consumer. But such thinking is problematic because it creates a vicious cycle of excess and access. As long as such thinking and cycles perpetuate, we are never going to really reduce waste. They are interconnected and interrelated,” she says.

In her vision for the next 25 years, she hopes to break such perceptions. “We need to ask, ‘what is waste?’ There is this really nice quote that says ‘waste is what is left when our imaginations fail.’ So we need to consciously think about the unlimited possibilities with food as a material and the tools we can use to minimize food waste. We also need to look at the fact that even though we are such a booming economy why are so many people still nutrient-deficient? What is causing these issues? We have to understand how we look at these issues holistically and see where interventions are needed. And then build better food systems to make the best of the resources we have,” she adds.

But who is responsible for doing it, taking decisions? “We all have equal amount of responsibility and without each others’ support and similar vision it will be hard to work towards these goals of zero waste or better food systems,” Yorke says. “Individuals have been a great catalyst and we have examples all across Bangalore. But we do need governmental and organisational input and direction a lot of times to ease the process, to create more awareness and to put together resources. So, while ideas and concepts definitely stem from an individual level, there is need of organisational and state support to actually transform systems.”

Having said that, Yorke feels there are many things that we, as individuals, can undertake to minimise food waste, that could be fun at the same time.

·         Develop consciousness and curiosity, because when you are conscious about food, especially food that is thrown away, it prompts you to buy less and learn to store better. It’s the first step and very easy to do.

·          It is so much fun to play around with leftover food. Treat it like a mystery box challenge — rajma on toast or poriyal sandwich. There are no rules in food and there is no such thing as authentic food. Feel free to use it to create something great and delicious.

·         If you are feeling adventurous, grow from scraps, like onion or garlic or other little things that can be put on the window sill. It takes a bit of energy, effort and time, but it is fun. Seeing food growing and understanding the time and effort that goes into it puts a lot of things into perspective.

·         If you have excess vegetables and fruits, then techniques like freezing, drying and fermenting are all incredible. They don’t spoil but also concentrate flavour.