The world wasted an estimated 19 per cent of the food produced globally in 2022, or about 1.05 billion metric tons, according to a new United Nations report. The UN Environment Programme\u2019s Food Waste Index Report, published Wednesday, tracks the progress of countries to halve food waste by 2030. The UN said the number of countries reporting for the index nearly doubled from the first report in 2021. The 2021 report estimated that 17 per cent of the food produced globally in 2019, or 931 million metric tons (1.03 billion tons), was wasted, but authors warned against direct comparisons because of the lack of sufficient data from many countries.<\/p>\n
The report is co-authored by UNEP and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), an international charity. Researchers analyzed country data on households, food services and retailers. They found that each person wastes about 79 kilograms (about 174 pounds) of food annually, equal to at least 1 billion meals wasted worldwide daily. Most of the waste \u2013 60 per cent \u2013 came from households. About 28 per cent came from food service, or restaurants, with about 12 per cent from retailers. \u201cIt is a travesty,\u201d said co-author Clementine O\u2019Connor, the focal point for food waste at UNEP. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t make any sense, and it is a complicated problem, but through collaboration and systemic action, it is one that can be tackled.\u201d<\/p>\n
The report comes at a time when 783 million people around the world face chronic hunger and many places facing deepening food crises. Food waste is also a global concern because of the environmental toll of production, including the land and water required to raise crops and animals and the greenhouse gas emissions it produces, including methane, a powerful gas that has accounted for about 30 per cent of global warming since pre-industrial times. Food loss and waste generates 8 to 10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. If it were a country, it would rank third after China and the US.<\/p>\n
Fadila Jumare, a Nigeria-based project associate at Busara Centre for Behavioral Economics who has studied prevention of food waste in Kenya and Nigeria, said the problem further disadvantages many people who are already food insecure and cannot afford healthy diets. \u201cFor humanity, food waste means that less food is available to the poorest population,\u201d said Jumare, who wasn\u2019t involved in the report. Brian Roe, a food waste researcher at Ohio State University who wasn\u2019t involved with the report, said the index is important to tackling food waste.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe key takeaway is that reducing the amount of food that is wasted is an avenue that can lead to many desirable outcomes \u2013 resource conservation, fewer environmental damages, greater food security, and more land for uses other than as landfills and food production,\u201d said Roe, who wasn\u2019t involved in the report. The report showed notable growth in coverage of food waste in low- and middle-income countries, the authors said. But it may fall to wealthier nations to lead in international cooperation and policy development to reduce food waste, they said.<\/p>\n
The report said many governments, regional and industry groups are using public-private partnerships to reduce food waste and its contributions to climate and water stress. Governments and municipalities collaborate with businesses in the food supply chain, whereby businesses commit to measure food waste. The report said food redistribution \u2013 including donating surplus food to food banks and charities \u2013 is significant in tackling food waste among retailers. One group doing that is Food Banking Kenya, a nonprofit that gets surplus food from farms, markets, supermarkets and packing houses and redistributes it to schoolchildren and vulnerable populations.<\/p>\n
Food waste is an increasing concern in Kenya, where an estimated 4.45 million tons of food is wasted every year. \u201cWe positively impact the society by providing nutritious food and also positively impact the environment by reducing the emission of harmful gases,\u201d said John Mukuhi, the group\u2019s co-founder and executive director. The report\u2019s authors said they found that the differences in per capita household food waste between high-income and lower-income countries were surprisingly small.<\/p>\n
Richard Swannel, a co-author and director of Impact Growth at WRAP, said that shows food waste \u201cis not a rich world problem. It\u2019s a global problem.\u201d \u201cThe data is really clear on this point: that here is a problem right around the world and one that we could all tackle tomorrow to save ourselves money and reduce environmental impact,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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