A new United Nations report revealed that over 1 billion meals are discarded globally every day while nearly 800 million people face hunger.
The report, titled UN Environment Program (UNEP) Food Waste Index Report 2024, published on March 27, emphasized the global challenge of food distribution and underscored food waste as a significant contributor to climate change, as highlighted by UNEP Director Inger Andersen.
“Food waste is a global tragedy. Millions will go hungry today as food is wasted across the world. Not only is this a major development issue, but the impacts of such unnecessary waste are causing substantial costs to the climate and nature.” Andersen stated.
The report differentiated between food “loss,” which refers to food discarded early in the supply chain, such as vegetables left to rot in fields and meat spoiling due to lack of refrigeration, and food “waste,” which includes food discarded by households, restaurants, and stores.
Data showed that food waste is a global issue, with minimal differences in average household waste levels across different income countries and hotter countries possibly generating more waste due to higher consumption of fresh foods and lack of cold chains.
About 13% of the world’s food is lost during its journey from farm to table. Overall, approximately one-third of all food is wasted during the production and consumption process.
On average, each person wastes 79 kilograms (174 pounds) of food annually, leading to the wastage of at least one billion meals of edible food daily, as per the report.
Despite improvements in data collection since the UN’s 2021 food waste report, the estimates provided in the current report are deemed conservative. The report criticized countries for inconsistent monitoring practices.
Highlights from UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024
The report, co-authored with WRAP, offered precise estimates on global food waste and provided guidance for improving data collection and reducing food waste. Following are the highlight of the report;
- In 2022, 1.05 billion tonnes of food were wasted, averaging 132 kilograms per person, or nearly 20% of all available food. Household waste accounted for 60%, food services 28%, and retail 12%.
- Food loss and waste contribute to 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, nearly five times that of the aviation sector, and cost the global economy around USD 1 trillion.
- Only four G20 countries and the EU have suitable food waste estimates for tracking progress to 2030, highlighting the need for consistent measurement and reporting.
- Urban areas stand to benefit significantly from food waste reduction efforts, while rural areas generally waste less due to diversion of food scraps to pets, livestock, and composting.
- As of 2022, only 21 countries have integrated food loss and waste reduction into their national climate plans, underscoring the urgent need to address food waste at individual and systemic levels.
- Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are vital for addressing food waste, with successful examples in Japan and the UK, where significant reductions in household food waste have been achieved.
UNEP emphasized the importance of systemic action through PPPs to reduce food waste, greenhouse gas emissions, and water stress, while promoting innovation and sharing best practices globally.
$1 trillion worth of food wasted globally every year
The report further highlighted a significant surge in food waste, amounting to a staggering $1 trillion worth of food wasted annually worldwide.
The report found that 783 million people lived with hunger in 2022, and about one-third of the global population faced food insecurity.
The report highlighted that among G20 nations, only the EU, Australia, Japan, UK, and the U.S. possess sufficient food waste data to monitor advancement towards the 2030 objective of cutting food waste by 50%.