A UN report stated that over 1 billion meals are wasted worldwide while more than 700 million people go starving.
Over 1 billion meals were wasted by households worldwide in 2022, while over 700 million people went hungry, and one-third of humanity faced food insecurity. Food waste continues to be a major threat to the world economy and fuel climate change and pollution. The key findings of the UN Environmental Program (UNEP) published on Wednesday, before International Day of Zero Waste, underline that food waste is a major threat to the world.
The UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024
The UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024 states that individuals and companies wasted over $1 trillion worth of food when over 780 billion people were going hungry. The report provides guidelines for the countries to gather accurate information and establish best practices to move from measuring to reducing food waste.
One-fifth of the food available to consumers was wasted in 2022, which equals 1.05 billion tons of food waste, or 132 kilograms per capita. 60 percent of the total food wasted in 2022 was at the household level. Food services were responsible for 28 percent and retail for 12 percent.
Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, said that food waste is a global tragedy. He said that it was not just a developmental crisis but that unnecessary waste caused problems for the climate and nature. Andersen said that if the countries prioritize the issue, they can reverse food waste and loss, reduce climate change and economic problems, and accelerate progress on global goals.
Food loss or waste has caused the emission of 8–10 percent of greenhouse gases. If it were a nation, it would be ranked third largest, behind China and the United States of America. The UN’s second report on global food waste, co-authored with the nonprofit organization WRAP, offers the most comprehensive picture.
According to Richard Swannel from WRAP, the “billion meals” per day estimate, according to the report, is a “very conservative estimate” and “the real amount could be much higher.” He said that the report was staggering for him. He said that the total food wasted per year was enough to feed a meal a day for all the 800 million hungry people. He claimed that bringing farmers and retailers together reduced waste and helped food distribution to people in need. But he also claimed that more actions needed to be taken.
Twenty-eight percent of food waste in 2022 came from food services, such as restaurants, canteens, and hotels, and twelve percent came from retailers, such as butchers and greengrocers. However, households accounted for 60% of the total, or 631 million metric tons, making them the greatest offenders. According to Swannell, the major reason for the problem was caused by consumers buying more food than required, choosing portion sizes incorrectly, and not consuming leftovers. He added that expiration dates were another problem, with good vegetables being thrown out because customers mistakenly believed their food had gone bad.
Food Loss And Food Waste
According to Kalyani Raghunathan, a researcher at the International Food Policy Research Institute, the global production of food is far more than the global requirement. The question was more about the distribution of the food than its demand and net supply. Although “food loss” and “food waste” are frequently used synonymously, she pointed out that the rates of both have regional variations.
When food waste is concentrated more in high-income countries, food loss peaks in lower-income countries. Food loss is when it gets lost between production and selling. Food waste that happens in high-income countries happens between retail and consumption.
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The Destructive Effects
According to the report, food waste has “devastating effects” on people and the environment. Food waste occupies roughly 30% of the world’s farming area, even though converting natural ecosystems for agriculture is a major factor in habitat loss. Additionally, it contributes significantly to climate change, accounting for up to 10% of yearly greenhouse gas emissions.