If The Rich [YOU] Could Reduce Food Waste By Just 25%, The Poor [THEY] Could Live

Did you know that each year 1.3 billion tonnes of food, about a third of all that is produced for human consumption, is wasted, including about 45% of all fruit and vegetables, 35% of fish and seafood, 30% of cereals, 20% of dairy products and 20% of meat, even though 795 million people on this planet continue to suffer from severe hunger and malnutrition?

Did you know that this means huge amounts of the resources used in food production are used in vain, and that the greenhouse gas emissions caused by production of food that gets lost or wasted are also emissions in vain?

Did you know that 30% of the world’s agricultural land area is used to produce food that is wasted?

Did you know that in rich countries, consumers and retailers throw away between 30% and 40% of all food purchased, whereas, in poorer countries, only 5% to 16% of food is thrown away?

Did you know that per capita food waste by consumers in Europe and North America is 95-115 kg/year, while this figure in sub-Saharan Africa and South/Southeast Asia is only 6-11 kg/year?

Did you know that if the amount of food wasted around the world was reduced by just 25%, there would be enough food to feed all the people who are malnourished?

“In the developing world, food waste is virtually nonexistent. Food waste is happening in countries where people can afford to throw away food. One statistic is that the amount of food wasted by consumers in industrialised countries [222m tonnes a year] is almost the same as the total net food production of sub-Saharan Africa [230m tonnes]. But food losses, on the other hand, are really rampant in developing countries because of the underdeveloped conditions they have, from management of production to transportation and distribution,” Robert van Otterdijk, coordinator of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Save Food programme, told The Guardian.

The worst food waste offenders are the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where consumers waste 39% of all food purchased, followed by Europe, where about 31% of all food purchased by consumers is thrown away. In the UK, 15 million tonnes of food is lost or wasted each year. British consumers throw away 4.2 million tonnes of edible food each year. This means that 11.7% of all food purchased is avoidably wasted, at an estimated cost to each family of £700 a year.

France has taken action and banned all supermarkets from purposefully wasting food. In the Basque Country town of Galdakao, Spain, residents have rallied around a public “solidarity fridge” installed earlier this year in an effort to reduce food waste.

By 2050, food production will have to be increased by 60% on 2005 levels to feed the growing global population. Do you want more ‘did you know’ facts to act before it is too late? Or would you take steps to prevent food waste at a personal level like donating leftovers, and/or using LeftoverSwap, an app that let others finish off your uneaten meals?

Those leftovers don’t belong in the garbage, they are meant to be shared with others…

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