A new study by the United Nations (UN) revealed that more than a billion meals are wasted every day around the world, while almost 800 million people face hunger.
More than 1 billion meals are wasted every day around the world
Photo: Disclosure / TV Brasil / Perfil Brasil
In 2022, the world wasted 1.05 billion metric tons of food, equivalent to a fifth of available food. Furthermore, about a third of all food goes to waste during the production process.
The data was published this Wednesday (27) in the 2024 Food Waste Index Report of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
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The numbers released are alarming, especially when compared to data showing that around a third of the world’s population faces food insecurity and 783 million are affected by hunger.
The report highlights the role of food waste in climate change and environmental degradation. The executive director of UNEP, Inger Andersenstated in a statement that “This is not only an important development issue, but the impacts of this unnecessary waste are causing substantial impacts to the climate and nature“.
“The good news is that we know that if countries prioritize this issue, they can significantly reverse food loss and waste, reduce climate impacts and economic losses, and accelerate progress on global goals.“, he added.
The report explains that food production requires a lot of resources and enormous amounts of land and water, and food systems are responsible for about a third of the planet’s global warming emissions.
Most food waste ends up in landfills, generating methane as it decomposes. A potent greenhouse gas, methane has about 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide in its first 20 years. This way, food wastefeeds and aggravates“climate change.
“Food waste is a global tragedy. Millions will go hungry today as food is wasted around the world“, highlighted Andersen.
Households were responsible for 60% of waste, which corresponds to 631 million metric tons of food in 2022. Then there is the food service sector (28%) and retail (12%).
The report points out that on average, a person wastes 79 kilograms of food per year, resulting in more than a billion meals thrown away daily.
* Under the supervision of Lilian Coelho
