Food Waste

In February this year France made history by becoming the first country in the world to ban supermarkets from throwing away unsold, about to expire, food – instead forcing them to give the food to charities and food banks. According to a report in Le Monde, France wastes 7.1m tonnes of food annually – 67% is thrown away by consumers, 15% by restaurants and 11% by shops.

Globally, the key facts on food loss and waste are staggering – as reported by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO):

  • Approximately one third of the food produced globally for human consumption every year — roughly 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted.
  • This equates to approximately US$ 680 billion in industrialized countries and US$ 310 billion in developing countries.
  • The highest wastage rates of any food is fruits and vegetables, roots and tubers.
  • Consumers in wealthy countries waste almost as much food (222 million tonnes) as the whole net food production of sub-Saharan Africa (230 million tonnes).
  • In third world countries 40% of losses occur post-harvest and during processing while in first world countries more than 40% of losses happen at store and consumer levels.
  • The food currently lost or wasted in Latin America could feed 300 million people.
  • The food currently wasted in Europe could feed 200 million people.
  • The food currently lost in Africa could feed 300 million people.

The FAO study goes on to say that at third world level, attention should be paid to better supporting the farmers, investing in infrastructure and transportation, and further developing the food and packaging industry, all of which will strengthen the supply chain and thereby reduce the large quantities of food loss and waste. At first world level, it recommends better coordination between participants in the supply chain, raising greater awareness of the issue for retailers and consumers, and finding alternative and beneficial uses for the food currently thrown away – a la France’s ground-breaking move.

Another worthy initiative is Think.Eat.Save – a campaign launched in partnership between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), FAO and Messe Düsseldorf. Aimed more at the consumer level of food loss, its advice is to be a smarter shopper – plan meals ahead of time and buy accordingly, too often waste happens subconsciously; be a more mindful eater; and lastly save save save wherever you can – because saving food has the knock-on effect of saving money and saving the environment.