An Indian Food Recycler, an Indian Food and Feed Development Agency (IFADD) project managed by the Centre for Environment and Ecology, in collaboration with the Food and Chemical Research Institute of India (FCRAI), has made great strides in food recycling in the country. The Food and Feed Research Institute conducts extensive research in India on food and feed issues. A recent study on the impact of pesticides on fish shows how depleted water supplies and polluted lakes and ponds have led to overfishing. The authors of that study were so worried about the effects of pesticides on aquatic life that they launched a research project to find a solution.
With millions of people turning to environmentalism as a way to save their resources, the Food and Feed Research Institute has also been conducting similar studies in different parts of the country. One of their recent papers on the impact of pesticides on aquatic life used a method called aquaculture whereby farmhands were kept in ponds and allowed to feed on fish that were already dead because they had been exposed to pesticides during the growing process. The researchers discovered that nearly a quarter of all the farm workers exposed to the chemicals fanned ponds containing up to four million gallons of wastewater. This alarming statistic prompted them to set up a Food and Feed Recycling Corporation in India that recycles leftover fish, dairy products, egg shells, and other waste at a profit.
The Food and Feed Recycling Corporation of India has recycled waste from more than 200 rural settlements in the last three years. According to statistics, more than six billion pounds of food waste and edible waste are being consumed each year in the United States alone. This amount is almost double the amount of waste produced in India, which is still a developing nation. However, this doesn’t mean that the Food and Feed Recycling Corporation of India won’t have a larger market.
The contaminated food poisoning deaths in India’s villages are indicative of how much damage has been done to food supplies in the country. As it takes years to create a problem, the contaminated food is still poisoning the soil. This contamination becomes doubly problematic in India’s rural areas, where poverty and lack of basic amenities make it difficult to access land for growing crops. In some cases, pesticides and herbicides were used on fields before the crop was even harvested. Even after the harvest was completed, the contaminated soil continued to contaminate food, leading to contaminated food products. The most contaminated food is left uneaten, which can lead to epidemics of unknown proportions.
Another challenge faced by India’s Food and Feed Recycler is that of contaminated meat and poultry. India’s rural areas are prone to encountering contaminated food items such as milk, eggs, meat, and fish. An examination of the food items imported to the country reveals that they arrive packaged in linings and bags that are highly susceptible to water, pests, and damage from pests and climate conditions. As a result, they are eaten, and when enough bacteria enter the system, they can create an epidemic of unknown proportions.
