The UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Food Waste Index Report 2024 finds that households wasted an equivalent of over 1 billion meals a day in 2022. An estimated 783 million people experienced hunger that year, and a third of humanity faced food insecurity. The report suggests that in addition to eradicating hunger, reversing food loss and waste can help reduce climate change impacts, biodiversity loss, and pollution and accelerate progress towards the SDGs.

Titled, ‘Think Eat Save: Tracking Progress to Halve Global Food Waste,’ the report provides “the most accurate global estimate on food waste at retail and consumer levels” and offers guidance for countries to improve data collection and move from measuring to reducing food waste. UNEP co-produced the report with WRAP – a global UK-based non-governmental organization (NGO).

The report finds that food waste in 2022 amounted to 1.05 billion tonnes – an equivalent of 132 kilograms (kg) per capita and almost one-fifth of all food available to consumers. Households were responsible for 60% of the total food wasted, with 28% attributable to food services and 12% to retail.

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen described food waste as “a global tragedy,” with substantial costs to the climate and nature, and urged countries to prioritize the issue.

The report shows that on average, each person wastes 79 kg of food every year. It further shows that observed average levels of household food waste in high-income countries (HICs), upper-middle-income countries (UMICs), and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) differ by just 7 kg per capita.

At the same time, households in warmer countries generate more food waste per capita, and rural areas tend to waste less.

The report notes that while food loss and waste is responsible for 8-10% of annual global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, only 21 countries as of 2022 included food loss and waste reduction in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement on climate change. Underscoring the urgency of addressing food waste at the individual as well as systemic levels, the report identifies the 2025 round of NDCs as a key opportunity to raise ambition by integrating food loss and waste in national climate plans.

Among available solutions, the report highlights systemic action through policies and public-private partnerships (PPPs) that bring together government, the private sector, and other stakeholders to identify bottlenecks, co-develop solutions, and drive progress. It shows that change at scale is possible, citing the examples of Japan and the UK having achieved respective food waste reductions of 31% and 18%.

The report also reveals that while the data infrastructure improved since its inaugural edition in 2021, many low-income countries (LICs) and middle-income countries (MICs) lack adequate systems for tracking progress towards SDG target 12.3 on halving food waste by 2030, particularly in retail and food services.

With only four G20 countries – Australia, Japan, the UK, and the US – and the EU having food waste estimates suitable for tracking progress, the report offers practical guidance for countries to consistently measure and report food waste.

Expressing support for UNEP in calling for more G20 countries to measure food waste and work towards SDG12.3, WRAP’s CEO Harriet Lamb called for greater coordinated action across continents and supply chains. “This is critical to ensuring food feeds people, not landfills,” she said.

The report was launched on 27 March 2024, ahead of International Day of Zero Waste 2024, marked on 30 March. [Publication: Food Waste Index Report 2024: Think Eat Save: Tracking Progress to Halve Global Food Waste] [Publication Landing Page] [UNEP Press Release] [UN News Story]