World wasted 20% of food produced in 2022: U.N. report

Almost a fifth of the food produced globally in 2022 was wasted, even though around a third of humanity is facing hunger, a U.N. body said in a recent report.

Of the 1.05 billion tons of food waste, around 60 percent came from households, while the food service and retail sectors were responsible for about 28 percent and 12 percent, respectively, according to the U.N. Environment Program’s Food Waste Index Report.

The report, released in late March, came as the U.N. body is tracking countries’ progress in halving food waste by 2030 under the Sustainable Development Goals. But the figure worsened from 931 million tons of waste in 2019 in its previous report published in 2021.

Japan’s food waste reduced by 31 percent in 2020 from 2008, when comparable data became available, according to the report.

Japan is among only four countries in the Group of 20 major economies as well as the European Union that have waste estimates suitable for tracking progress toward the target year, the report said.

On average, each person discarded 79 kilograms of food annually, equal to 1.3 meals per day for people in the world who are impacted by hunger, with an estimated 29.6 percent of the global population facing food insecurity, it said.

The issue is also affecting the climate, as recent data showed that food loss and waste generates 8 to 10 percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions, almost five times the level of the aviation sector, it said.

“Not only is this a major development issue, but the impacts of such unnecessary waste are causing substantial costs to the climate and nature,” UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said in a press release.

G20 countries can take a leading role in international cooperation and policy development toward meeting the goal, and can share their expertise with countries just getting started in tackling the issue, the report said.

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