In warmer countries, people throw away more food per person at home. This could be because they eat more fresh food that has parts you can’t eat and because they don’t have good ways to keep food cold.
This is captured in key findings from the UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024, released on Wednesday.
The report shows that wasting food isn’t only a problem in rich countries. Even in countries with different levels of income, the difference in how much food is wasted is only about 7 kilograms per person on average.
Efforts to reduce food waste and make better use of food are expected to help cities the most. In rural areas, the report says, people usually waste less food. They often give food scraps to pets or animals, or they use them for composting at home.
According to the report, only 21 countries made plans to reduce wasted food as part of their efforts to fight climate change in 2022 adding that, the 2025 NDC’s revision process provides a key opportunity to raise climate ambition by integrating food loss and waste.
Recent data reveals that food loss and waste contribute to 8-10 percent of annual global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a figure nearly five times higher than that of the aviation sector. This phenomenon leads to significant biodiversity loss, with food loss and waste occupying nearly a third of the world’s agricultural land. The economic impact of both food loss and waste is staggering, estimated at approximately USD 1 trillion.
If countries focus on this problem, as Inger Andersen, the head of UNEP, said, they can make a big difference. They can cut down on wasted food, which will help the environment, save money, and make progress on worldwide goals.
The report highlighted that having baselines and regular measurement, along with putting policies and partnerships into action, are crucial. It said countries like Japan and the UK have proven that significant changes are doable, with Japan reducing food waste by 31% and the UK by 18%.
As per the report’s findings, a staggering 1.05 billion tonnes of food waste inclusive of inedible portions were generated in 2022. This equates to 132 kilograms per capita and nearly one-fifth of all food accessible to consumers.
The report highlighted a notable improvement in the data infrastructure for tracking food waste since 2021, with an increase in studies monitoring this issue globally.
Despite this progress, the report said, there remains a significant gap in low- and middle-income countries, where adequate systems for tracking progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 12.3—aiming to halve food waste by 2030—are lacking, particularly in the retail and food services sectors.