Throwing away food is like stealing from the table of those who are poor and hungry .

I am the soul of a farmer, watching from above as people gather at my funeral. My eyes are filled not with sorrow for my own death, but with the pain of a life spent in toiling, now so carelessly dishonored. Day after day, I bent under the blazing sun, prayed for rain, and guarded the crops from pests with bruised hands and rough palms. Each grain that grew from the earth felt like a part of my flesh and my hope. I did not just raise crops; I raised food meant to keep families alive, to fill empty stomachs, and bring joy to shared tables. Now, I see from above as the food born of my labor is thrown into dustbins, wasted without a second thought,  and in that waste, I see not just food discarded, but my life’s sweat dishonored.

When you leave rice on your plate or bread on your plate, you see only a scrap. I see my life, I see the mornings before dawn, walking barefoot on cracked earth. I see the afternoons when the sun burned my skin, and the nights when storms kept me awake, fearing for my crops. My hands became rough like stone, my back bent, my skin darkened by labor. I worked not only for my family’s stomach but for yours. But now, I see my harvest lying in dustbins, untouched, unwanted. That spoon of rice left behind could have fed a hungry child, that piece of bread thrown away could have eased the pain of an empty stomach. Wasting food is not just a dishonor to me - it robs the poor. Looking down from heaven, I still see hunger on the face of millions. I see children in Africa, Asia, and Latin America going to bed with nothing but tears. I see mothers in refugee camps breaking a small piece of bread into four parts to feed their children. I see old men searching garbage heaps for leftovers. I ask myself: why is there still hunger when the earth provides so much? The answer is bitter. It is not scarcity, it is waste. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO ), the world produces enough food to feed 10 billion people - more than the current global population. Yet, in 2022, 735 million people still faced hunger. That is nearly one out of every eleven people.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP ) Food Waste Index 2024 reports that more than 1.05 billion tonnes of food were wasted globally in 2022. That equals 20% of all available food, that is, one–fifth of all food grown is never eaten. The cruelty of this situation is staggering. While 2.4 billion people – almost 30% of the world’s population – do not have regular access to safe and nutritious food ( FAO, 2022 ), households in wealthy nations throw away food worth billions. Every year, food waste costs the world $1 trillion in economic losses. And the environmental cost is equally severe, rotting food in landfills releases methane, a greenhouse gas far harmful than carbon dioxide. Food waste alone contributes to 8 – 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, worsening the climate crisis that makes farming difficult each year. My life was spent fighting against droughts, floods, and heatwaves. Now I see the very food I grew is worsening the same disasters that haunted me.

I was born in India, a land of farmers, where farming is a way of life. India is one of the largest producers of grain, fruits, and vegetables. But hunger still scars my land. India ranked 111th out of 125 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2023, a position that reflects deep suffering. About 194 million Indians are undernourished. In India, approximately 78 -79 million tonnes of food were wasted in 2023, out of which 78.2 million tonnes of food was wasted in Indian households, which makes it a major contributor to the overall waste. This accounts for about 1.05 billion tonnes wasted globally and ranks India as the second–highest food-wasting nation after China.

Surveys show that 74% of Indian households admit to wasting food regularly. At weddings, festivals, and even at home, mountains of food are cooked and then thrown away. Do you see the cruelty? In one village, a child cries for roti, while in another town, trays of food are dumped into bins. Food waste does not just harm people; it wounds the planet. Each grain wasted means water wasted, land wasted, and energy wasted. Consider this: producing one kilogram of rice consumes 3,000 -5,000 litres of water, so when rice is wasted, it is not only the labor you discard, but also the earth’s precious resources. Globally, 28% of agricultural land is used to produce food that is never eaten. Imagine – the size of China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan combined – all dedicated to growing food that will end up in dustbins.

It is high time for all people to understand the importance of food. Various key causes contribute to food waste, but the first step towards precautions and awareness should be taken by the household. If the household observes changes, then automatically a large amount of food is saved. Parents should practice – praying before eating as Sathya Sai Baba states - “ FOOD is considered God … Wasting FOOD is a Great SIN “. This practice of praying can teach children that food is sacred and should not be wasted, and doing so is a grave offense, especially when others are in need. The younger ones should be discouraged from the “excess” of food on the plate. If you can show the correct path to the children, then the Global Hunger Index ( GHI ) report will look different in the future. Besides this , families must shop wisely , cook in proportion , and respect leftovers . If households reduced waste by even 50%, millions could be fed. But that’s not enough, policies must encourage redistribution systems, technology must enable better storage and transport, and governments must prioritize reducing waste as much as producing food. Waste reduction should be as important as food production.

I am a farmer no longer bound to the soil, but my spirit remains tied to every grain. I do not ask for monuments or praise. I ask only that you honor the grain. So I beg you – Do not take more than you need, Do not throw away what could feed another. Remember this whenever you sit at your table: the grain before you is not just food – it is life, it is labor, it is love. Treat it as sacred. When you waste food, you waste me. You waste every farmer who lived and died for the harvest. You waste the chance to ease someone’s hunger. If you continue to waste, then my soul, and the souls of millions of farmers, will never find rest.

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