The global issue of food waste

Worldwide about one-third of all food produced – equivalent to 1.3 billion tonnes – gets lost or wasted in the food production and consumption systems, according to data released by FAO.  Wasting food means wasting money both at the household level and in businesses throughout the supply chain – about $200 billion annually in industrialised regions.

UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner told us “In a world of seven billion people, set to grow to nine billion by 2050, wasting food makes no sense – economically, environmentally and ethically. Aside from the cost implications, all the land, water, fertilizers and labour needed to grow that food is wasted – not to mention the generation of greenhouse gas emissions produced by food decomposing on landfill and the transport of food that is ultimately thrown away. To bring about the vision of a truly sustainable world, we need a transformation in the way we produce and consume our natural resources.”

Simple actions by producers, manufacturers, retailers, the hospitality industry and consumers – all of us really – can dramatically cut the food lost or wasted each year.

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