A new United Nations report on hunger says the world wasted an unfathomable 19% of food produced globally in 2022. That amounts to 1.05 billion metric tons of food.
The UN Environmental Program's Food Waste Index Report came out on Wednesday and tracks the progress made by countries that are trying to cut their food waste in half by 2030.
The UN further stated that the number of countries reporting for the index double since the report first was published in 2021. During that report, an estimated 17% of food produced globally was wasted.
However, the authors of the report say direct comparisons between countries are discouraged due to a lack of sufficient data.
The report was co-authored by UNEP and the Waste and Resources Action Program (WRAP), an international charity.
Researchers looked at data on households, food service, and retailers and found that each person wastes about 174 pounds of food a year, equal to at least 1 billion meals wasted daily.
60% of food waste occurs in households and around 28% comes from food services and restaurants while 12% comes from retailers.
"It is a travesty," said co-author Clementine O'Connor, the focal point for food waste at UNEP. "It doesn't make any sense, and it is a complicated problem, but through collaboration and systemic action, it is one that can be tackled."
Current estimates are that 783 million people face chronic hunger globally and many places are facing deepening food insecurity, notably in Gaza and Haiti.
Food waste is a very important issue due to the heavy toll that food production takes on the environment, occupying acres upon acres of land to grow crops and requiring large amounts of water.
