The latest report on the United Nations Food Waste Index shows that the world wastes about one-fifth of its food (equivalent to 1 billion tons of food), causing a loss of about 1,000 billion USD each year.
More than 1 billion meals are thrown away every day in poor and developed countries, despite more than 730 million people worldwide going hungry. Households waste the most food, accounting for about 60% of the 1 billion tonnes of food thrown away each year. Commercial food systems also contribute significantly, with food service wasting 28% and retail 12%.
These statistics exclude the 13% of food lost in the supply chain from harvest to market. This is often due to food being discarded due to spoilage.
In a statement, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Inger Andersen stressed: "Food waste is a global tragedy. Today, millions of people go hungry because of wasted food around the world."
The report argues that such waste is not only morally questionable but also harmful to the environment. Greenhouse gas emissions from food waste are five times higher than those from the aviation industry.
Meanwhile, few countries have plans to reduce food waste, and most do not include it in proposals to reduce carbon emissions. But several countries, including the UK, Australia, Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa, have seen significant reductions in food waste since 2007. Japan has cut its food waste by nearly a third, while the UK has cut it by 18%.
This is the second report on global food waste compiled by the United Nations and provides the most comprehensive picture yet of the problem. According to Clementine O'Connor, UNEP officer, the true scale of the global food waste problem has become much clearer thanks to improvements in data collection and analysis.
Richard Swannell of WRAP stressed that the 1 billion meals figure was a very conservative estimate. In reality, it could be much higher. He said that collaboration between producers and retailers had helped reduce waste and get food to those in need, and the world needed more of that.
Minh Hoa (reported by VNA, Hanoi Moi)
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