Food Waste Index Report 2024

World Wastes 1 Billion Meals a Day – UN Report (Food Waste Index Report 2024, UNEP & WRAP)

Key Points:

1. Global Food Waste:
   • In 2022, 1.05 billion tonnes of food were wasted globally (~132 kg per capita).
   • Accounts for nearly 1/5th of all food available to consumers.
   • Daily equivalent: over 1 billion meals wasted.
2. Sources of Food Waste:
   • Households: 60%
   • Food services: 28%
   • Retail: 12%
3. Food Insecurity:
   • 783 million people faced hunger in 2022.
   • 1/3 of the global population faced food insecurity.
4. Income-level Insights:
   • Food waste not limited to high-income countries; per capita differences across income groups only ~7 kg.
   • Hotter countries waste more due to higher consumption of fresh foods and weak cold chains.
5. Rural vs Urban:
   • Rural areas waste less due to diversion of scraps to livestock, pets, or composting.
6. Climate & Environmental Impact:
   • Food loss and waste responsible for 8–10% of global GHG emissions.
   • Causes biodiversity loss and occupies ~1/3 of agricultural land.
   • Economic cost: ~$1 trillion annually.
7. Policy Gaps:
   • Only 21 countries have integrated food loss/waste reduction in climate plans (NDCs).
   • Only 4 G-20 countries + EU have suitable food waste tracking for SDG 12.3 (halve food waste by 2030).
8. Definitions:
   • Food waste: food & inedible parts removed from the human supply chain.
   • Food loss: crop/livestock edible commodities lost before retail level.
9. Call to Action:
   • Strengthen global data infrastructure for monitoring food waste.
   • Integrate food loss/waste targets in national climate policies.
     
     Updated - March 28, 2024 08:04 pm | The Hindu