The world wasted 19% of all food produced in 2022, or roughly 1.05 billion metric tons, according to a United Nations study.
The UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Food Waste Index Report measures countries’ progress toward the goal of halving food waste by 2030.
The number of countries reporting data to the index nearly doubled compared to the first report, released in 2021, the UN said. The 2021 report estimated that 17% of food produced globally in 2019, or 931 million metric tons (1.03 billion tons), was wasted, but the authors caution against direct comparisons due to incomplete data from some countries.
The report was produced jointly by UNEP and an international charity called the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).
Experts analyzed country-by-country data on household, food service, and retail practices. They found that, on average, each person wastes about 79 kilograms (174 pounds) of food annually—equivalent to wasting 1,000 meals per day.
Sixty percent of food waste comes from households. Twenty-eight percent comes from food service establishments, such as restaurants, and 12% from retail stores.
“It’s absurd,” said one of the report’s authors, Clementine O’Connor, who works for the UN’s environmental program. “It makes no sense, and it’s a complicated problem, but through collaboration and systemic action, it’s a problem that can be tackled.”
The report comes as 783 million people worldwide suffer from chronic hunger and many countries face food crises.
Food waste is also a global environmental concern due to the impact of food production, including the land and water required for crops and livestock, and the greenhouse gases it generates—particularly methane, a potent gas responsible for 30% of global warming since the pre-industrial era.
Food loss and waste account for 8% to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. If it were a country, it would be the third-largest emitter after China and the United States.
Image: Voice of America
