According to a recent study by the United Nations, households worldwide discarded one billion meals every day in 2022.
The UN’s Food Waste Index Report, released on Wednesday, revealed that households and businesses threw away more than one trillion dollars’ worth of food at a time when over 780 million people were experiencing hunger.
The index monitors the progress of countries aiming to cut food waste in half by 2030.
It was reported that in 2022, over one billion tonnes of food, nearly one-fifth of all available produce, was wasted, with households being the main contributors.
“Food waste is a global tragedy. Millions will go hungry today as food is wasted across the world,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme.
The report emphasized that food waste is not only a moral issue but also an environmental failure, as it generates 8 to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Co-authored with the non-profit organization WRAP, the report is the second on global food waste compiled by the UN and provides the most comprehensive picture to date.
Rubbish is loaded into a landfill in Lenox Township, Michigan, US, July 28, 2022 [File: Paul Sancya/AP Photo]
Conservative estimate
The report stated that the daily “billion meals” figure was a “very conservative estimate” and that “the real amount could be much higher.”
Richard Swannell from WRAP expressed his astonishment, saying, “For me, it’s just staggering.” He added, “You could actually feed all the people that are currently hungry in the world – about 800 million people – over a meal a day just from the food that is wasted every single year.”
While progress has been made in reducing waste and distributing food to those in need, more action is required, especially in food services such as restaurants, canteens, and hotels, which were responsible for 28 percent of all wasted food in 2022.
Original from www.aljazeera.com
