Nearly one-fifth of the food produced globally in 2022 was wasted, despite one-third of the world’s population facing hunger. Out of the 1.05 billion tons of food waste, 60 percent came from households, while the food service and retail sectors were responsible for 28 percent and 12 percent, respectively. The U.N. Environment Program’s Food Waste Index Report also revealed that Japan’s food waste decreased by 31 percent in 2020 compared to 2008, making it one of only four countries in the G20 and European Union with waste estimates suitable for tracking progress towards the target year.
On average, each person discards 79 kilograms of food annually, equivalent to 1.3 meals per day for those impacted by hunger globally. However, almost 30 percent of the global population faces food insecurity due to unnecessary waste which generates approximately 8 to 10 percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen emphasized that this issue is a development problem with substantial costs to the climate and nature caused by unnecessary waste. The report called on G20 countries to lead in international cooperation and policy development to achieve the goal of halving food waste by 2030 under the Sustainable Development Goals and share expertise with other countries starting to address this issue.
