In 2022, households wasted over one billion meals a day, while 783 million people struggled with hunger and a third of humanity faced food insecurity, as indicated by the 2024 Food Waste Index Report. This study was jointly authored by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), a UK-based non-profit organization.
The report, which was released ahead of the International Day of Zero Waste (March 30), stated that in 2022, 1.05 billion tonnes of food waste (including inedible parts) was generated, amounting to 132 kilogrammes per person and nearly one-fifth of all food accessible to consumers.
The report revealed that in 2022, households accounted for 60% of the total food wasted, while food services were responsible for 28%, and retail contributed to 12%.
The report emphasized the necessity of enhancing and fortifying data infrastructure to facilitate the monitoring and oversight of food waste. It highlighted the deficiency in tracking systems in many low- and middle-income countries to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, aiming to halve food waste by 2030, especially in retail and food services sectors. Currently, only four G-20 nations (Australia, Japan, U.K., U.S.) along with the European Union possess food waste estimates adequate for monitoring progress towards 2030.
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Contrary to common belief, the report indicated that food waste was not solely a ‘rich country problem’. It highlighted that the average levels of household food waste differed by only 7 kg per capita among high-income, upper-middle-income, and lower-middle-income countries. The report also pointed out, “Hotter countries seem to produce more food waste per capita in households, possibly due to increased consumption of fresh foods with significant inedible parts and a lack of reliable cold chain systems.”
Highlighting the connection between food waste and climate change, the report revealed that food loss and waste accounted for “8-10% of annual global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – nearly five times the emissions of the aviation sector – and resulted in substantial biodiversity loss, occupying the equivalent of nearly a third of the world’s agricultural land.” The report estimated the economic impact of both food loss and waste on the global economy to be $1 trillion.
The data also indicated a trend where, compared to urban areas, rural areas generally wasted less food. This was attributed to “greater diversion of food scraps to pets, livestock, and home composting.”
The report highlighted that as of 2022, only 21 countries had incorporated food loss and/or waste reduction into their climate plans or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The report urged governments to “elevate climate ambition by integrating food loss and waste” into their NDCs.
The report defines “food waste” as “food and its associated inedible parts removed from the human food supply chain.” In contrast, “food loss” is defined as “all crop and livestock quantities suitable for human consumption that, either directly or indirectly, are lost from the post-harvest/slaughter production/supply chain… up to, but excluding, the retail level.”
The Food Waste Index tracks the global and national production of food and inedible parts that are discarded at the retail and consumer levels, including households and foodservices. UNEP acts as its custodian.
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