World-Wide, People Waste 1 Billion Tons Of Food Each Year: Report

Washington: “Don’t waste your food”. This is one common statement we have grown up hearing (from our elders). Ever wondered why? It is because wasting food is ethically a bad practice and also wastes natural resources. But you should know that it is also bad for the environment and the global climate. It was shocking to find out that the world wastes around one billion tons of food every single year! This means, around one-third of the food, which is produced globally, gets wasted.

The finding was a part of the ‘Food Waste Index Report 2021’ released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

“The evidence is becoming too hard to ignore. Food systems reform is critical to tackling the planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss and pollution and waste,” the report reads.

The report further states that massive food waste accounts for up to one-third of human-linked greenhouse gas emissions. That’s not all. Agriculture is reportedly under threat as over 86 percent of species of flora and fauna is at risk of extinction. The wastage is also leading to massive food shortages across the world.

The Food Waste Index Report has also found household food waste as a major global challenge. Hence, they shared a few quick tips that one can follow to reduce food waste in everyday life.

United Nations Environment Programme took to YouTube to share a video and wrote alongside, “Reducing food losses and waste is essential in a world where the number of people affected by hunger has been slowly on the rise since 2014, and tons and tons of edible food are lost and/or wasted every day.”