FOOD WASTE (Europe)

on

FOOD WASTE FACTS 

The problem with food waste is that it is not only a domestic issue but also a systemic one, meaning that every step from supplier to consumer, is a constant battle to prevent waste. 
Our obsession with cosmetic standards and the convenience of canceling orders helps consumers to play a large role in dictating how much waste actually occurs. 
But it is hard to comprehend how much food we actually discard each month, so it’s important to take a look at the sheer scale of the problem, why it is happening, and what solutions we can use to help ease the situation.


According to Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations:

Key facts on food loss and waste you should know!

  • Roughly one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted.
  • Food losses and waste amount to roughly US$ 680 billion in industrialized countries and US$ 310 billion in developing countries.
  • Industrialized and developing countries dissipate roughly the same quantities of food — respectively 670 and 630 million tonnes. 
  • Fruits and vegetables, plus roots and tubers have the highest wastage rates of any food.
  • Global quantitative food losses and waste per year are roughly 30% for cereals, 40-50% for root crops, fruits, and vegetables, 20% for oilseeds, meat, and dairy plus 35% for fish.
  • Every year, consumers in rich countries waste almost as much food (222 million tonnes) as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa (230 million tonnes).
  • The amount of food lost or wasted every year is equivalent to more than half of the world's annual cereals crop (2.3 billion tonnes in 2009/2010).
  • Per capita waste by consumers is between 95-115 kg a year in Europe and North America, while consumers in sub-Saharan Africa, south and south-eastern Asia, each throw away only 6-11 kg a year.
  • Total per capita food production for human consumption is about 900 kg a year in rich countries, almost twice the 460 kg a year produced in the poorest regions.
  • In developing countries, 40% of losses occur at post-harvest and processing levels while in industrialized countries more than 40% of losses happen at retail and consumer levels.
  • At the retail level, large quantities of food are wasted due to quality standards that over-emphasize appearance.
  • Food loss and waste also amount to a major squandering of resources, including water, land, energy, labor and capital and needlessly produce greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global warming and climate change.
  • In developing countries, food waste and losses occur mainly at early stages of the food value chain and can be traced back to financial, managerial and technical constraints in harvesting techniques as well as storage and cooling facilities. Strengthening the supply chain through the direct support of farmers and investments in infrastructure, transportation, as well as in an expansion of the food and packaging industry could help to reduce the amount of food loss and waste.
  • In the medium- and high-income countries food is wasted and lost mainly at later stages in the supply chain. Differing from the situation in developing countries, the behavior of consumers plays a huge part in industrialized countries. The study identified a lack of coordination between actors in the supply chain as a contributing factor. Farmer-buyer agreements can be helpful to increase the level of coordination. Additionally, raising awareness among industries, retailers, and consumers as well as finding a beneficial use for food that is presently thrown away are useful measures to decrease the number of losses and waste.
Development Goals:

  • support the fight against climate change (food waste alone generates about 8% of Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions)
  • save nutritious food for redistribution to those in need, helping to eradicate hunger and malnutrition (some 43 million people in the EU cannot afford a quality meal every second day)
  • save money for farmers, companies, and households.



Interesting sources on this global issue:
http://solvefoodwaste.eu/en - How much of their groceries does the average European family throw away every year?

https://fareshare.org.uk/ - Articles about food waste and solutions in order to keep food distribution fair. 

Comments

Post a Comment