Photo credit, Getty Images/BBC
“Over the past seven years, I have realized the importance of buying food, bringing home only what I can eat or what the people I feed can consume,” says Ceren Özkan, a Turkish writer and content creator.
Since 2019, she's been living a zero-waste lifestyle, which means minimizing what she throws away — and food is a big part of that.
“Moving can be difficult because it takes time to get into a new routine. Illness or vacation can also disrupt things… [but otherwise] it has become a natural part of my daily life,” she says.
According to a 2024 report by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the world wastes more than a billion tonnes of food every year, even as 645 million people go hungry.
And for the first time this year, zero waste – including food waste – will be highlighted as one of the priority themes of COP31, the United Nations climate summit which is being held this month in Antalya, Turkey.
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Photo credit, Ceren Özkan
Özkan welcomes the attention paid to his subject, but remains skeptical.
“I would love to be proven otherwise, but awareness must be followed by action and responsibility. »
His concerns reflect a larger challenge. To date, only 30 countries have integrated food loss and/or waste into their national climate action plans.
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“We hope that this favorable policy environment for preventing and reducing food waste will help many more countries to integrate this dimension into their national climate strategies,” says Clementine O'Connor, who leads UNEP's work on urban food systems and food waste.
How much food does the average person waste?
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According to UNEP, each person wastes on average 79 kg of food per year at home, which equates to at least one billion meals wasted every day worldwide.
This makes households the main source of the problem (60%), followed by food services such as restaurants and school canteens (28%) and retail (12%).
Food waste occurs at the retail, food service and household levels, while food loss refers to what is lost earlier in the supply chain, between harvest and retail.
“The United States… is one of the largest producers of food waste,” says Dr. Liz Goodwin, senior food loss and waste researcher at the World Resources Institute (WRI).
“Some Middle Eastern countries also waste a lot of food, which is equally surprising given that they import much of their food. »
But Goodwin points out that it is difficult to compare countries accurately due to the lack of reliable data.
One of the most surprising findings from UNEP's research is the consistency of household food waste across different countries.
“It used to be said that food waste was a problem of high-income countries and food loss a problem of low-income countries, but the data shows that this is not the case,” says O'Connor. “It’s a global problem. »
From long working hours to caring responsibilities, many of the factors that lead to food waste are remarkably similar across the world, she explains.
But in warmer countries, limited access to refrigeration and cold storage can cause food to deteriorate more quickly.
Why is food waste so bad for the planet?
According to the UN, food loss and waste is responsible for 8 to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
This is why halving global food waste by 2030 is one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
When food decomposes in landfills without oxygen, it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
“Its power of action is 84 times greater than that of CO2 over a period of 20 years,” says O’Connor. Reducing food waste can therefore have a very rapid impact on efforts to combat climate change.
Food production requires immense amounts of land and water, as well as energy and other resources. Food waste also leads to a waste of these resources, thus contributing to the loss of biodiversity.
According to O'Connor, reducing food loss and waste can increase the amount of food available, which can lower prices and make food more affordable.
How can I reduce food waste at home?
Climate change can sometimes seem like an insurmountable problem, O'Connor says, but it's an area where individuals can make a concrete difference.
Project Drawdown, a US non-profit organization that focuses on science-based solutions to climate change, sees reducing food loss and waste as the number one climate action we can take, she explains.
Goodwin agrees and says simple changes in daily habits can help. Making a shopping list is a good place to start, as is understanding best before dates (“best before”) and (“best before”).
The “Best before” label relates to quality rather than safety: after this date, foods may lose some of their flavor or texture, but they are generally safe to eat.
“A lot of people throw away expired products, and it’s a tragedy,” laments Goodwin.
Photo credit, Roman Mykhalchuk/Getty Images
Sustainability advocates around the world have their own tips for reducing food waste at home.
Charlotte Brum Bezié, a zero-waste influencer in Mexico City, recommends using AI to accurately calculate the amount of food needed for each meal of the week.
To get a reality check, she says, check off everything you used on your receipt, then see how much money went to wasted food.
“It can be heartbreaking,” she says, “but it always works.” »
Rahaf Allymoni, creator of a coffee alternative made from date stones, suggests reserving a refrigerator shelf for older foods and consuming them before repurchasing.
“If you have a lot of vegetables and you feel like they're about to go bad, throw them all in the blender and make a delicious sauce. »
Dharath Hoonchamlong, co-founder of a sustainability-focused bar in Bangkok, avoids following “strict recipes” and instead adapts his dishes based on the ingredients he has on hand.
Özkan explains that she freezes her vegetable peelings, then boils them in water. “Once cooled, I use the water for my plants and compost the remaining peelings. »
Which countries are making progress?
Japan is the only country, to UNEP's knowledge, that has met the UN target of halving food waste in households and the business supply chain, O'Connor says.
She attributes this progress to a combination of public awareness campaigns, reporting requirements for businesses, and collaboration between the public and private sectors.
Photo credit, Noriko Hayashi/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The UK has also reduced food waste by 22%, mainly by bringing together businesses across the food supply chain to identify sources of waste and work together to reduce them.
This approach has since been adopted in countries including South Africa, Indonesia, Mexico and Brazil.
But despite progress in some areas, the world is not on track to meet its overall goal.
“It is impossible to halve food waste by 2030,” says Goodwin.
She says businesses have made more progress than governments, with many large food companies now setting targets and implementing programs to reduce waste.
But she says governments need to do more to encourage businesses to measure and report their food waste, which she says will help boost competition and drive improvements.
Experts say tackling food waste requires action across the global food system, but individuals can also make a difference through their choices at home.
“Ultimately, it’s up to us whether we throw something away or not,” Goodwin says.
We used AI to help translate this article, originally written in English. A BBC journalist checked the translation before publication. Learn more about how we use AI.
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