Households around the world wasted more than one billion meals per day in 2022, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has said, while 783 million people were affected by hunger.
The UNEP made its stark assessment in its Food Waste Index Report 2024, co-authored with WRAP, which was released to coincide with the International Day of Zero Waste (30 March).
According to the report, a third of humanity faced food insecurity in 2022, with food waste continuing to both hurt the global economy and fuel climate change.
Unnecessary waste
“Food waste is a global tragedy,” commented Inger Andersen, executive director of UNEP. “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. The good news is we know if countries prioritise this issue, they can significantly reverse food loss and waste, reduce climate impacts and economic losses, and accelerate progress on global goals.”
The data showed that in 2022, some 1.05 billion tonnes of food waste was generated (including inedible parts), which amounted to 132 kilograms per capita, or one-fifth of all food available to consumers.
Some 60% of food waste is generated at household level, while foodservice is responsible for 28% and retail 12%.
As UNEP noted, many low- and middle-income countries still lack adequate systems to track progress toward meeting Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, which aims to halve food waste by 2030.
Currently, only four G20 countries (Australia, Japan, UK, USA) and the European Union have food waste estimates suitable for monitoring progress towards the 2030 goal. Canada and Saudi Arabia have suitable household estimates, while Brazil’s estimate is expected to be available in late 2024.
Greenhouse gas emissions
Recent data also highlights that food loss and waste contribute to 8% to 10% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions, nearly five times the emissions of the aviation sector. Moreover, it leads to significant biodiversity loss, occupying almost a third of the world’s agricultural land.
The economic toll of food loss and waste is estimated to be roughly $1 trillion.
“With the huge cost to the environment, society, and global economies caused by food waste, we need greater coordinated action across continents and supply chains. We support UNEP in calling for more G20 countries to measure food waste and work towards SDG12.3,” said Harriet Lamb, CEO of WRAP.
“This is critical to ensuring food feeds people, not landfills. Public-Private Partnerships are one key tool delivering results today, but they require support: whether philanthropic, business, or governmental, actors must rally behind programmes addressing the enormous impact wasting food has on food security, our climate, and our wallets.”
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