READING- FOOD WASTAGE AND CARBON FOOTPRINT(CLASS 9 AND 10)

Worksheet 26

1.  The UN Food and the Agriculture Organization claim that each year nearly 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted across the globe. Food wastage occurs at the various levels of the food system, namely farming, processing, transporting, retailing, cooking, and consuming. This is not just a food waste issue, it is also a waste of land, water, labor, energy, and even contributes to methane emissions. When this waste food gets to the landfills, the massive layers of organic waste decompose and produce greenhouse gases (GHG) such as methane that is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a heat-trapping gas.

2. By diverting food waste away from landfills, we can reduce our carbon footprint, capture renewable energy, and restore the essential nutrients back to the soil. Food waste is recyclable and hence must be used smartly in order to trim down the greenhouse emissions that come from landfills.

3. A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide and methane) that are generated by our actions. The average carbon footprint for a person in the United States is 16 tons, one of the highest rates in the world. Globally, the average carbon footprint is closer to 4 tons. Burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation is also a major cause for carbon food print.

4. According to the, United States Environment Protection Agency almost estimates that 90 percent of garbage thrown away by households, cafeterias, and supermarkets is composed of recyclable food scrap. Moreover, a typical household generates nearly 474 pounds of food waste each year. When this organic waste is sent to landfills or the oceans, they not only consume space but also release methane, adding to the greenhouse emissions.

5. Composting is one of the most undemanding and eco-friendly ways to recycle your food waste. Several cities have regular pickup vehicles that collect waste food, dried leaves, grass clippings, and organic yard waste to the recycling centers. In composting the following types of wastes are used.

6. Greens – Grass clippings, vegetable waste, fruit scraps, weeds, and coffee grounds and filters
Food Leftovers – Eggshells, tea bags, and nutshells
Browns – Dead leaves, wood chips, twigs, and fireplace ash
Recyclable Packaging Material – Shredded newspaper, cardboard, and paper.

7. Composting helps in lowering greenhouse gases by improving carbon sequestration in the soil and by preventing methane emissions through aerobic decomposition, as methane-producing microbes are not active in the presence of oxygen. The benefits of composting are many, and states are looking into diverting organic waste from entering landfills by increasing commercial composting practices.

8. Sequestration is the act of separating and storing a harmful substance such as carbon dioxide in a way that keeps it safe. Carbon sequestration is a natural processes that benefit people, such as the sequestration of carbon in soil and forests.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS-

1. What is the effect of emissions of heat trapping gas?
2. Name some measures to restore Carbon foot prints?
3. Explain carbon foot print.
4. What contributes greenhouse emissions?
5. What is composting?
6. Explain the term carbon sequestration.

7.  What is mulch?   It is believed that the word mulch originated from the German wood molsch, which means soft, or decaying.