Nairobi, Kenya –
The world is estimated to waste 19 percent of the food produced globally in 2022, or about 1.05 billion metric tons, according to a new United Nations report.
United Nations Environment Program Food Waste Index Report, published on wednesdaytracks countries’ progress in halving food waste by 2030.
The UN said the number of countries reporting for the index nearly doubled since the first report in 2021. The 2021 report estimated that 17 percent of food produced globally in 2019, or 931 million metric tons (1.03 billion tons), were wasted. but the authors cautioned against direct comparisons due to a lack of sufficient data from many countries.
The report is co-authored by UNEP and the Waste and Resources Action Program (WRAP), an international charity.
The researchers analyzed national data on households, food services and retailers. They found that each person wastes about 79 kilograms (about 174 pounds) of food a year, which is equivalent to at least one billion wasted meals daily around the world.
Most of the waste (60 percent) came from households. About 28 percent came from food services or restaurants, and about 12 percent from retailers.
“It’s a travesty,” said co-author Clementine O’Connor, focal point for food waste at UNEP. “It doesn’t make any sense and it’s a complicated problem, but through collaboration and systemic action it can be addressed.”
The report comes at a time when 783 million people around the world face chronic hunger and many places face deepening food crises. The war between Israel and Hamas and violence in Haiti have worsened the crisis, and experts say famine is imminent in northern Gaza and approaching in Haiti.
Food waste is also a global concern because of the environmental cost of production, including the land and water needed to grow crops and animals and the greenhouse gas emissions it produces, including methane, a powerful gas that has accounted for about 30 percent of global warming. since pre-industrial times.
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 United States.
Fadila Jumare, a project associate at the Nigeria-based Busara Center for Behavioral Economics, who has studied food waste prevention in Kenya and Nigeria, said the problem further harms many people who are already food insecure and unable to allow yourself a healthy diet.
“For humanity, food waste means that there is less food available for the poorest people,” said Jumare, who was not involved in the report.
Brian Roe, a food waste researcher at Ohio State University who was not involved in the report, said the index is important for addressing food waste.
“The key takeaway is that reducing the amount of food wasted is a pathway that can lead to many desirable outcomes: resource conservation, less environmental damage, greater food security, and more land for uses other than landfills and food production.” ” said Roe, who was not involved in the report.
The report showed notable growth in food waste coverage in low- and middle-income countries, the authors said. But it could be up to richer nations to lead international cooperation and policy development to reduce food waste, they said.
The report says many governments, regional and industry groups are using public-private partnerships to reduce food waste and its contribution to climate and water stress. Governments and municipalities collaborate with companies in the food supply chain, whereby companies commit to measuring food waste.
The report says food redistribution, including donating surplus food to food banks and charities, is important to tackling food waste among retailers.
One group that does that is Food Banking Kenya, a nonprofit that sources surplus food from farms, markets, supermarkets and packing houses and redistributes it to schoolchildren and vulnerable populations. Food waste is a growing concern in Kenya, where an estimated 4.45 million metric tons (about 4.9 million tons) of food are wasted each year.
“We have a positive impact on society by providing nutritious food and we also positively impact the environment by reducing the emission of harmful gases,” said John Mukuhi, co-founder and CEO of the group.
The report’s authors said they found that differences in per capita household food waste between high- and low-income countries were surprisingly small.
Richard Swannel, co-author and director of Impact Growth at WRAP, said it shows that 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 around the world and one that we could all address tomorrow to save money and reduce environmental impact,” he said.
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