The Food Waste Index Report 2024 a study jointly authored by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), a U.K.-based non-profit.
- The report was released ahead of the International Day of Zero Waste (March 30).
- The Food Waste Index tracks the global and national generation of food and inedible parts wasted at the retail and consumer (household and food service) levels. UNEP is its custodian.
Key highlights
- Households across the globe wasted over one billion meals a day in 2022, even as 783 million people struggled with hunger and a third of humanity faced food insecurity.
- In 2022, there were 1.05 billion tonnes of food waste generated (including inedible parts), amounting to 132 kilograms per capita and almost one-fifth of all food available to consumers.
- Out of the total food wasted in 2022, 60% happened at the household level, with food services responsible for 28%, and retail 12%.
- The report stressed the importance of expanding and strengthening data infrastructure to enable the tracking and monitoring of food waste.
- It pointed out that “many low- and middle-income countries continue to lack adequate systems for tracking progress to meet Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 of halving food waste by 2030, particularly in retail and food services.
- At present, only four G-20 countries (Australia, Japan, U.K., U.S.) and the European Union have food waste estimates suitable for tracking progress to 2030.
- Food waste was not a ‘rich country problem’. Average levels of household food waste for high-income, upper-middle, and lower-middle-income countries differing by just 7 kg per capita.
- Food loss and waste generated 8-10% of annual global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
- Compared to urban areas, rural ones generally wasted less food, due to greater diversion of food scraps to pets, livestock, and home composting.
- As of 2022, only 21 countries had included food loss and/or waste reduction in their climate plans or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
