Two far-flung issues that require competent management are global hunger and global food waste. Food is not the cause of world hunger; there is enough food produced worldwide to feed everyone. But the gap is being caused by waste and poor management. Whether people are dining out or eating at home, the majority of human beings are all guilty of occasionally leaving some leftovers on our plates. Although it can seem like a minor problem, food waste is a major one that needs to be addressed right away.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP's) Food Waste Index Report 2021, people globally waste 1 billion metric tonnes of food each year. A staggering one-third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted. The evidence is becoming too hard to ignore. Food system reform is critical to tackling the planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, pollution, and waste.
Global food waste not only contributes to a food shortage that causes millions of people to go hungry while they sleep, but it also produces greenhouse gases (GHGs) that pose a threat to the environment.
In many nations, the food supply chain is on track to supersede farming and land use as the leading source of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The food supply chain is rising to the top of the list of global GHG emitters thanks to food processing, packaging, waste, and transportation.
Between harvest and retail, around 14% of the world's food is lost, and between retail and consumption, approximately 17% is squandered. At the same time, 811 million people go without food.
This food loss and waste contributes to an unstable climate and catastrophic weather events like droughts and flooding by making up 8 to 10 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.
Nations around the globe pledged in 2015 to halve food waste by 2030, but few are on track to do so, according to officials from the United Nations, sustainability watchdogs, and governments interviewed by Reuters.
"Eight years to go and we are nowhere close to reaching that goal," said Rosa Rolle, the team leader for food loss and waste at the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization.
Among the top five biggest food wasters per capita, for example, at least three countries-the United States, Australia, and New Zealand-have increased their food waste since 2015, according to independent estimates that their governments do not dispute. Reliable information for the other two, Ireland and Canada, was not available.
(With inputs from agencies)
