Food waste is a mirror that reflects back at us the failures of our societies and industries. Every year, billions of tons of food are wasted, while food insecurity remains a global problem. Beyond surplus and absence, it contributes to worsening emissions. But recent research offers insights that could help tackle the problem.
The UN estimates that food loss and waste are responsible for approximately 7 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Loss and waste is ubiquitous in the value chain, from farm to fork. Most is the result of natural hazards and human action, negligence or lack of awareness.
Despite technological and organisational advances in agriculture, processing and consumption, the US alone produced 91mn tons of surplus food in 2021: about 38 per cent of its total $444bn food supply or 2 per cent of GDP. The US Environmental Protection Agency reports that close to 45 per cent of landfill refuse is food waste and packaging.