That estimate is tentative and the amount of food wasted “could be much higher,” the Food Waste Index suggests.
While 800 million people in the world still suffer from hunger, the world wasted more than 1 billion tons of food in 2022, equivalent to more than 1 trillion dollars.
It represents about a fifth of what is produced and represents a “global catastrophe,” the text warns.
“Millions of people will go hungry today while food is being wasted around the world,” Inger Andersen, the program’s executive director, said in a statement.
And it is not only a moral failure but also an “environmental failure”.
Food waste produces five times more CO2 emissions than the aviation sector, and requires vast areas of land to grow food that is ultimately not consumed.
The report, prepared with the non-profit organization WRAP, is the second report on global food waste compiled by the UN.
UNEP’s Clementine O’Connor said that as data collection has improved, the true magnitude of the problem has become clearer.
“To me, it’s just amazing,” WRAP’s Richard Swannell told AFP. “You could actually feed all the hungry people in the world one meal a day, just from the food that is wasted every year.”
Restaurants, dining rooms and hotels were responsible for 28% of total food waste in 2022, while retail businesses such as butchers and grocery stores discarded 12%.
But the biggest culprits were households, which accounted for 60%, about 631 million tonnes.
Much of this happens because people not only buy more food than they need, but they also miscalculate portion sizes and don’t eat leftovers, Swanell said.
Another problem is expiration dates. There are perfectly good products that are thrown away because people mistakenly believe they have gone bad.
The report explains that most food, especially in developing countries, is not wasted, but is lost in transit or spoils due to lack of refrigeration.
Contrary to popular belief, food waste is not just a problem of “rich countries” and can be seen all over the world.
Countries with warmer climates also produce more waste, possibly due to higher consumption of fresh food.
Destructive effects
Companies also contribute to the problem because landfills make it cheaper to dispose of unused products.
“It’s quicker and easier to dispose of immediately because the waste fee is zero or very low,” O’Connor said.
The report says food waste has “devastating effects” on people and the planet.
Conversion of natural ecosystems for agriculture is a major cause of habitat loss, but food waste occupies the equivalent of about 30% of land intended for agricultural use.
“If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest greenhouse gas emitter on the planet, after the United States and China,” Swanell said.
