We waste about 40% of the food we produce
About 2.5-billion tonnes a year is lost on farms or wasted by retailers or consumers, more than double previous estimate
More than two-billion tonnes of food is wasted around the world, almost double the amount previously thought, according to a new report.
An estimated 2.5-billion tonnes of food was lost on farms or wasted by retailers or consumers globally, accounting for about 40% of production, according to research by World Wildlife Fund and UK retailer Tesco. The figure tops the previous estimates by about 1.2-billion tonnes, with farming in wealthier countries being a bigger offender than assumed, they said in a report.
Researchers have been trying for years to piece together data on the true extent of food waste, which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says accounts for as much as 10% of global greenhouse-gas emissions. The last comprehensive analysis of the total loss and waste from farm to fork was conducted by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation in 2011 and pegged it at about 33%.
“The problem is likely bigger than we had thought,” Pete Pearson, the global lead for food loss and waste at WWF, said in a statement. “We have known for years that food loss and waste is a huge problem that can be minimised, which could reduce the impact of food systems on nature and climate.”
The new report, which draws on the research from the FAO, shows about 1.2-billion tonnes of food is lost on farms in a first quantification of total on-farm food losses since 2011. That’s on top of the 931-million tonnes wasted at retail and consumption levels as estimated by the UN Environment Programme earlier this year.
Contrary to previous assumptions that food loss on farms was an issue mainly for poorer regions, the report shows that high- and middle-income countries of Europe, North America and industrialised Asia contribute 58% of the global harvest waste.
The report calls on governments and food companies to adopt the so-called Target, Measure, Act approach to reducing the problem. Under the strategy, businesses set food waste reduction targets, measure and report surplus and waste and take action in their operations and from suppliers and consumers.
So far, only 11 of the 192 national climate plans in the Paris climate agreement have mentioned food loss and waste. Most of them come from African nations tackling post-harvest losses.
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