UN: 17% of all food available at consumer levels is wasted

By
admin
– March 4, 2021

United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, Paris

Wasted in 2019: 931 million tonnes of food sold to households, retailers, restaurants and other food services; Study finds food waste is a global, not just developed world, problem; Food Waste Index report helps countries track progress on UN SDG

An estimated 931 million tonnes of food, or 17% of total food available to consumers in 2019, went into the waste bins of households, retailers, restaurants and other food services, according to new UN research conducted to support global efforts to halve food waste by 2030.

The weight roughly equals that of 23 million fully-loaded 40-tonne trucks — enough bumper-to-bumper to circle the Earth 7 times.

The Food Waste Index Report 2021, from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and partner organization WRAP, looks at food waste that occurs in retail outlets, restaurants and homes – counting both food and inedible parts like bones and shells. The report presents the most comprehensive food waste data collection, analysis and modelling to date, and offers a methodology for countries to measure food waste. 152 food waste data points were identified in 54 countries.

The report finds that in nearly every country that has measured food waste, it was substantial, regardless of income level. It shows that most of this waste comes from households, which discard 11% of the total food available at the consumption stage of the supply chain. Food services and retail outlets waste 5% and 2% respectively.

On a global per capita-level, 121 kilograms of consumer-level food is wasted each year, with 74 kilograms of this happening in households. The report also includes regional and national per capita estimates.

Food waste has substantial environmental, social and economic impacts. For example, at a time when climate action is still lagging, 8%-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions are associated with food that is not consumed, when losses before consumer level are taken into account.

“Reducing food waste would cut greenhouse gas emissions, slow the destruction of nature through land conversion and pollution, enhance the availability of food and thus reduce hunger and save money at a time of global recession,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “If we want to get serious about tackling climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste, businesses, governments and citizens around the world have to do their part to reduce food waste. The UN Food Systems Summit this year will provide an opportunity to launch bold new actions to tackle food waste globally.”

With 690 million people affected by hunger in 2019, a number expected to rise sharply with COVID-19, and three billion people unable to afford a healthy diet, consumers need help to reduce food waste at home.

Countries can raise climate ambition by including food waste in Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement, while strengthening food security and cutting costs to households. This makes food waste prevention also a primary area for inclusion in COVID-19 recovery strategies.

A global problem

“For a long time, it was assumed that food waste in the home was a significant problem only in developed countries,” said Marcus Gover, CEO of WRAP. “With the publication of the Food Waste Index report, we see that things are not so clear cut.

“With only 9 years to go, we will not achieve SDG 12 Target 3 if we do not significantly increase investment in tackling food waste in the home globally. This must be a priority for governments, international organisations, businesses and philanthropic foundations.”

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 12.3 aims at halving per-capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food losses along production and supply chains. One of the two indicators for the target is the Food Waste Index.

A growing number of countries have measured food waste in recent years. The reports finds that 14 countries already have household food waste data collected in a way that is compatible with the Food Waste Index. A further 38 countries have household food waste data where small changes in methodology, geographical coverage or sample size would allow them to create an SDG 12.3-compatible estimate. A total of 54 countries had data for at least one of the three sectors covered by the report.

The new global consumer-level food waste estimates were generated from existing data points and extrapolations based upon the estimates observed in other countries. With 75% of the world’s population living in a country with a directly observed food waste estimate at the household level, confidence of the estimate in this sector is higher. With far lower direct estimates at the retail and foodservice level, confidence in estimates in these sectors is lower.

Data on the breakdown between food and inedible parts wasted is available only in a few high-income countries and shows a fifty/fifty split on average at the household level. The proportion of inedible parts is an important knowledge gap and may be higher in lower-income countries.

To build on the work of the report, UNEP will launch regional working groups to help build countries’ capabilities to measure food waste in time for the next round of SDG 12.3 reporting in late 2022, and support them to develop national baselines to track progress towards the 2030 goal and design national strategies to prevent food waste. This week, WRAP has launched the UK’s first national Food Waste Action Week (1-7 March), driving home the message that wasting food feeds climate change.

###

NOTES TO EDITORS

About the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

About WRAP

WRAP is a global NGO based in the UK. It is one of the UK’s top 5 environmental charities and works with governments, businesses and individuals to ensure that the world’s natural resources are used sustainably. Founded in 2000 in the UK, WRAP now works around the world and is a Global Alliance Partner of The Royal Foundation’s Earthshot Prize.

Coverage highlights

Newswires

The Associated Press, via Washington Post, United States (109,105,960)
17% of food production globally wasted, UN report estimates

Bloomberg, United States (57,014,799)
In One Year a Billion Tons of Food Got Wasted — Mostly at Home

Agence France Presse

Reuters, United Kingdom

Agencia EFE, Spain
ONU: el mundo desperdició 931 millones de toneladas de alimentos en 2019

Europa Press, Spain
La ONU alerta de que se desperdicia el 17% de todos los alimentos disponibles en el mundo

Kyodo News, Japan
家庭の食品ごみ、年5.7億トン 国連発表、日本は1人64キロ

TT Nyhetsbyrån, Sweden
FN-rapport: 17 procent av all mat slängs

Inter Press Service, Italy
How Households Increased Food Waste is Feeding Climate Change

Press Trust of India
India Wasted Over 68 Million Tons Of Food In 2019: UN Report

Indo Asian News Service, India
17% of all food available at consumer level is wasted: UN

Bernama, Malaysia
Food waste: Amount thrown away totals 900 million tonnes

Xinhua, China
UNEP says hunger elimination target in peril amid surging food waste

SAPO, Portugal
Em 2019, foram desperdiçadas 931 milhões de toneladas de alimentos

HINA, Croatia
U svijetu se godišnje baci milijardu tona hrane. Diljem svijeta, gladno je 700 milijuna ljudi

News sites

The Guardian, United Kingdom
People wasting almost 1bn tonnes of food a year, UN report reveals

Daily Mail, United Kingdom

Almost a FIFTH of the world’s food is wasted, with the average household binning 163lbs of leftovers every

BBC News, United Kingdom
Food waste: Amount thrown away totals 900 million tonnes

The Independent, United Kingdom
Massive impact of food waste on climate with nearly a billion tons binned each year, finds UN report

New Scientist, United Kingdom
Over one-sixth of all food produced ends up being thrown in the bin

Forbes, United States
The Enormous Scale Of Global Food Waste [Infographic]

New York Daily News, United States
17% of world’s food production was wasted in 2019: UN

Voice of America, United States
Food Waste Problem Needs Better Data: UN Report

Christian Science Monitor, United States
Food waste: New UN report tries to measure what we throw away

Deutsche Welle, Germany

El País, Spain
El insostenible desperdicio alimentario: el 17% de los alimentos acaba en la basura

Russia Today (RT.com), Russia
Nearly a fifth of all food produced around the world ends up in the bin, UN report says

Times Of India

India Times, India
931 Mn Tonnes Of Food Was Wasted Globally In 2019, An Indian Household Wasted 50 Kgs: UN Report

Hindustan Times, India
17% of total food available globally wasted in 2019: Here’s what the UN said

CGTN, Mainland China
Food equivalent to 23 million fully-loaded trucks wasted in 2019

Libération, France
Environ 17% des denrées alimentaires atterrissent à la poubelle

La Croix, France
Le gaspillage alimentaire mondial serait deux fois plus important qu’estimé

Spektrum der Wissenschaft, Germany
Knapp eine Milliarde Tonnen Lebensmittel werden weggeworfen

Down To Earth, India
17 per cent of all food available at consumer levels was wasted in 2019, reveals Food Waste Index

COSMOS Magazine, Australia
Waste not, want not

Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, Kenya
UN: 17pc of all food available at consumer levels is wasted

Clarín, Argentina
ONU: Se desperdician 17% de los alimentos en el mundo

UOL Notícias, Brazil
Mundo desperdiçou 931 milhões de toneladas de alimentos em 2019, indica ONU

Euronews, France
More than 900 million tonnes of food is thrown away each year, says UN

Sveriges Radio, Sweden
I snitt slänger du 74 kilo mat per år

Newspapers in print
Major titles:

The Guardian UK, Page 12: Billion tonnes of food goes to waste each year, UN report reveals

The Guardian USA, USA, Page 15: People wasting almost 1bn tonnes of food a year, UN report reveals

The Independent, UK, Page 62: One billion tons of food is wasted every year, UN finds

Metro, UK, Page 7: What a waste! Fifth of all food is thrown out

Daily Telegraph, UK, Page 2: World is ‘wasting 931m tons of food each year’

Svenska Dagbladet, Sweden, Page 20

Le Journal de Montreal, Canada, Page 19: Le gaspillage alimentaire atteint des sommets

Khaleej Times, UAE, Page 1: A fifth of food goes waste globally: UN JUNK FOOD

Opinion

Column, Times Now, India
Stop Food wastage: How Indian households recycle Kal Raat Ka Khana Leftovers

Editorial, The Express Tribune, Pakistan
Food waste

Television

TRT World, Turkey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6oUYbTb8xI

News release in full, click here

Coverage summary, click here (to 11 am US ET March 6):

Total # of hits at online news sites: 1,277

Languages: 30

Countries: 80

Potential impressions (online only, does not include TV, radio, newspaper print editions): 4.7 billion

(note: per Meltwater — assume 2.5% of visitors to a news site view a particular article = 112 million impressions, online only)