A recent United Nations analysis estimates that in 2022, the globe wasted 1.05 billion metric tonnes, or 19% of the food produced worldwide.
The Food Waste Index Report, released on Wednesday by the U.N. Environment Programme, monitors nations’ progress towards halving food waste by 2030.
According to the U.N., since the index’s initial release in 2021, the number of countries reporting has almost doubled. The 2021 research predicted that 931 million metric tonnes (1.03 billion tonnes), or 17% of the food produced globally in 2019, went to waste. However, the authors cautioned against drawing direct comparisons due to the dearth of adequate data from numerous nations.
UNEP and the international charity Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) co-authored the paper.
Researchers examined national data on food service, retailers, and homes. They discovered that the average person throws away over 79 kg (or 174 pounds) of food a year, which equates to at least 1 billion meals wasted every day globally.
Laptops 100060% of the waste was generated in homes. About 28% came from food service restaurants, while roughly 12% came from shops.
Co-author Clementine O’Connor, the UNEP’s lead person on food waste, called it “a travesty.” “The issue is complex and nonsensical, but it can be resolved with cooperation and systemic change.”
The study is released at a time when 783 million people worldwide suffer from chronic hunger, and many regions are experiencing worsening food crises. Experts claim that starvation is nearing in Haiti and is impending in northern Gaza as a result of the bloodshed and Israel-Hamas conflict.
Food waste is a global issue due to its production’s negative environmental effects, which include the land and water needed to raise crops and animals as well as the greenhouse gases it emits, such as methane, a potent gas that has contributed roughly 30% of global warming since pre-industrial times.
Eight to ten percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide are caused by food loss and waste. After the United States and China, it would be ranked third if it were a nation.
According to Fadila Jumare, a project associate at the Busara Centre for Behavioral Economics located in Nigeria who has researched food waste reduction in Kenya and Nigeria, the issue exacerbates the disadvantages faced by a large number of individuals who are already food insecure and unable to pay for nutritious diets.
Jumare, who was not engaged in the investigation, stated, “For humanity, food waste means that less food is available to the poorest population.”
The index is crucial for combating food waste, according to Ohio State University researcher Brian Roe, who was not engaged in the investigation.
The main lesson, according to Roe, who wasn’t involved in the report, is that cutting down on food waste can result in several positive outcomes, including resource conservation, less harm to the environment, increased food security, and more land used for purposes other than food production and landfills.
The authors noted that the study demonstrated a discernible increase in the coverage of food waste in low- and middle-income nations. However, they added that wealthier countries could lead in developing international cooperation and policies to reduce food waste.
The study claimed that a large number of public-private partnerships are being used by industry, regional, and federal organizations to lessen food waste and its effects on water scarcity and climate change.
Laptops 1000In the food supply chain, businesses are tasked with measuring food waste, and governments and municipalities work together with these enterprises.
Food redistribution, which includes donating extra food to food banks and charitable organizations, is important in addressing food waste among shops, according to the survey.
A nonprofit organization called Food Banking Kenya does this by redistributing excess food to underprivileged groups and kids from farms, markets, supermarkets, and packing companies.
A growing number of people in Kenya are concerned about food waste, with an estimated 4.9 million tonnes (or 4.45 million metric tonnes) wasted annually.
The group’s co-founder and executive director, John Mukuhi, stated, “We positively impact society by providing nutritious food and also positively impact the environment by reducing the emission of harmful gases.”
According to the report’s authors, their research revealed small variation in per capita household food waste between high- and low-income nations.
Food waste, according to co-author and WRAP Impact Growth director Richard Swannel, “is not a rich world problem.” It’s an international issue.
“The information is quite evident that there is a global issue that we can all address tomorrow to save costs and lessen our influence on the environment,” he stated.
