According to a new United Nations report, the world wasted an estimated 1.05 billion metric tons of food in 2022, equivalent to 19% of the food produced globally.
The UN Environment Programme’s Food Waste Index Report on Wednesday, March 27 published a report that tracks the progress of countries to halve food waste by 2030.
The report 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, 60%, came from households, while 28% came from food service or restaurants, and 12% from retailers.
“It doesn’t make any sense, and it is a complicated problem, but through collaboration and systemic action, it is one that can be tackled,” said co-author Clementine O’Connor.
The report’s release coincides with a critical juncture when the world grapples with chronic hunger, affecting approximately 783 million individuals. Several regions are experiencing escalating food crises, exacerbating the situation.
The report highlighted that food waste is a global concern because of production’s environmental toll, including the land and water required to raise crops and animals and the greenhouse gas emissions it produces.
For instance, methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that has accounted for about 30 percent of global warming since pre-industrial times.
Fadila Jumare, a Nigerian-based project associate at the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics, researched food waste prevention in Kenya and Nigeria.
She highlighted the challenge of food waste, which worsens the plight of individuals who already experience food insecurity and struggle to access nutritious diets. “For humanity, food waste means that less food is available to the poorest population,” said Jumare.
Brian Roe, a food waste researcher at Ohio State University said the index is important to tackling food waste.
“The key takeaway is that reducing the amount of food that is wasted is an avenue that can lead to many desirable outcomes — resource conservation, fewer environmental damages, greater food security, and more land for uses other than as landfills and food production.”
The report also found that food loss and waste generate 8 to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. If it were a country, it would rank third after China and the US.
Calls for Reduction In Food Waste
The report’s authors said that reducing food waste could lead to many desirable outcomes, including resource conservation, fewer environmental damages, greater food security, and more land for uses other than landfills and food production.
Additionally, the report showed notable growth in coverage of food waste in low- and middle-income countries, but it may fall to wealthier nations to lead in international cooperation and policy development to reduce food waste.
The report said food redistribution — including donating surplus food to food banks and charities — is significant in tackling food waste among retailers.
A pioneer in food redistribution is Food Banking Kenya, a nonprofit that gets surplus food from farms, markets, supermarkets, and packing houses and redistributes it to schoolchildren and vulnerable people.
Food waste is an increasing concern in Kenya, where an estimated 4.45 million metric tons of food is wasted every year.
“We positively impact the society by providing nutritious food and also positively impact the environment by reducing the emission of harmful gases,” said John Mukuhi, the group’s co-founder and executive director.
Furthermore, the report’s authors said food waste is not a rich world problem. It’s a global problem. “The data is really clear on this point: that there is a problem right around the world and one that we could all tackle tomorrow to save ourselves money and reduce environmental impact,” said Richard Swannel, a co-author and director of Impact Growth at WRAP.
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