India is facing a deep contradiction. Millions of people struggle with hunger and poor nutrition, yet enormous quantities of food are wasted every year. This waste is not only an economic failure but also a serious climate problem, creating a vicious cycle where climate disasters cause food loss, and rotting food further worsens climate change.
While global leaders recently met at COP30 to discuss climate action, the effects of climate change were already unfolding on the ground in India. An intense and unusually early heatwave scorched large parts of the country, while unprecedented floods in Punjab, India’s key food-producing region, submerged farmland and destroyed crops. These extreme weather events directly reduced food availability and damaged farmer livelihoods.
At the same time, a new United Nations assessment has identified India as one of the world’s largest methane emitters. Agriculture, crop-residue burning and overflowing landfills are major contributors. When wasted food ends up in landfills, it decomposes and releases methane, a greenhouse gas that is far more powerful than carbon dioxide over a short period. This means food waste is not just a result of climate change, but also a driver of it.
This creates a disastrous loop. Climate extremes destroy crops and increase food loss. That wasted food is dumped in landfills, where it emits methane and accelerates global warming. A hotter and more unstable climate then makes farming even more difficult. In effect, India is feeding its garbage dumps instead of its people.
The scale of food waste is alarming. According to recent estimates, the average Indian household throws away about 55 kilograms of food each year. Nationally, this adds up to more than 78 million tonnes of wasted food, worth around Rs 92,000 crore. Despite producing enough food, India ranks 105th out of 127 countries on the Global Hunger Index, showing that the real crisis lies in access, affordability and distribution, not production.
Food loss occurs at every stage of the supply chain. At the farm level, up to 16 per cent of fruits and vegetables are lost due to a lack of cold storage and refrigerated transport. Small farmers often sell produce at distress prices to avoid complete loss, especially after climate-related damage such as floods or heatwaves. During transportation and storage, poor infrastructure and inefficient logistics cause further wastage. Supermarkets also reject large quantities of edible food due to cosmetic standards, discarding produce with minor blemishes.
In cities, the problem worsens at the consumption stage. Food waste from households, restaurants and large social events is routinely dumped in landfills. These dumps have become a major source of methane emissions, turning urban consumption habits into a climate threat.
India’s food security policies, such as the National Food Security Act and the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, have helped distribute staple grains like rice and wheat. However, they largely ignore perishable but nutrient-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables and dairy. These foods are crucial to tackling malnutrition, yet they are the most likely to be wasted.
Addressing food waste can deliver multiple benefits at once. Reducing waste would improve food availability, cut methane emissions and strengthen climate resilience. But this requires strong policy action. Businesses are often reluctant to donate surplus food due to fear of legal action under food safety laws. A nationwide Good Samaritan law is needed to protect donors and encourage large-scale food redistribution.
India also needs urgent investment in supply chain infrastructure, including pack houses, cold storage and refrigerated transport at the farm level. Such investments would reduce losses, increase farmer incomes and lower emissions. At the urban level, strict enforcement of Solid Waste Management Rules is essential to ensure organic waste is separated and diverted away from landfills.
The government can also play a key role by creating demand for waste-based energy. Schemes like SATAT, which promote Bio-CNG from organic waste, show how food waste can be turned into clean fuel. Indore’s Bio-CNG plant under the GOBAR-Dhan scheme is a working example, already producing fuel for hundreds of buses each day.
Tackling food waste is not just about better waste management. It is central to India’s fight against hunger, malnutrition and climate change. A food-secure and climate-resilient future will depend on how effectively the country can reduce waste from farms to households and ensure that food feeds people, not landfills.