UN Report on Food Waste Highlights a 'Travesty'

Researchers say that in 2022, nearly 20% of food produced globally went to waste
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 27, 2024 1:05 PM CDT
UN: Nearly a Fifth of World's Food Was Wasted in 2022
A plate of food is seen on Aug. 6 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A new United Nations report estimates that 19% of the food produced around the world went to waste in 2022.   (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

The world wasted an estimated 19% of the food produced globally in 2022, or about 1.05 billion metric tons, per a new United Nations report. The UN Environment Programme's Food Waste Index Report published Wednesday, co-authored by UNEP and the international charity Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), tracks the progress of countries to halve food waste by 2030, per the AP. Researchers analyzed country data on households, food service, and retailers.

  • Stats: The UN said the number of countries reporting for the index nearly doubled from the first report in 2021. About 60% of the waste cited in the latest report came from households, 28% from food service or restaurants, and 12% from retailers.

  • On a personal level: Researchers found each person wastes about 174 pounds of food annually, equal to at least 1 billion meals wasted worldwide daily.
  • Global impact: The report comes as 783 million people around the world face chronic hunger and many places facing deepening food crises. Food waste is also a global concern due to the environmental toll of production, including the land and water required to raise crops and animals and the greenhouse gas emissions it produces, including methane. Food loss and waste generates 8% to 10% of global greenhouse-gas emissions. If it were a country, it would rank third after China and the United States.
  • 'Not a rich world problem': "It's a global problem," says WRAP's Richard Swannell, a report co-author. The report's authors say they found that the differences in per capita household food waste between high-income and lower-income countries were surprisingly small.
  • Reaction: "It is a travesty," says report co-author Clementine O'Connor, the point person for food waste at UNEP. "It doesn't make any sense, and it is a complicated problem, but through collaboration and systemic action, it is one that can be tackled."
  • What can be done: The report said many governments, as well as regional and industry groups, are using public-private partnerships to reduce food waste and its contributions to climate and water stress. The report added that food redistribution—including donating surplus food to food banks and charities—is significant in tackling food waste among retailers.
(More here.)

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