In a world where one in eleven people goes hungry, more than 2.3 billion tons of food are lost or wasted every year, the United Nations warns on the occasion of the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, marked on September 29.
According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), about 13 percent of food – equivalent to 1.25 billion tons – disappears already between harvest and retail, while an additional 19 percent (1.05 billion tons) is wasted in households, restaurants, and shops. Households alone generate as much as 60 percent of global food waste.
This problem not only undermines global food security, but also significantly contributes to climate change: 8 to 10 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions come from lost or wasted food.
“Our food systems cannot be resilient if they are not sustainable. When we waste food, we waste water, land, energy, and labor invested in its production,” the United Nations (UN) stresses.
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The UN reminds that reducing food loss and waste is part of Sustainable Development Goal 12, which aims to halve global per capita food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce losses along production and supply chains by 2030.
With the world’s population projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, the fight against food waste is becoming a matter of survival. Experts say that introducing new technologies, digital platforms, circular economy models, and innovative food processing solutions could create new jobs, enhance sustainbility, and contribute to a healthier future.
As every September 29 reminds us, the message is clear: everyone – from producers to consumers – has a role in building a world without hunger and food waste.
