World wastes over 1 billion meals daily: UN report

More than a billion meals a day were wasted in 2022 around the world. 

This is while 783 million people were affected by hunger and a third of humanity faced food insecurity. 

A report released Wednesday by the UN Environment Program found that almost one-fifth of all food available to consumers was wasted. 

Approximately 60 percent of food waste happened at the household level, while food services were responsible for 28% and retail 12%.

According to the report, food waste is not just a “rich country” problem.

It also found that hotter countries appear to generate more food waste per capita in households. 

The document suggests that this could be due to higher consumption of fresh foods with substantial inedible parts and a lack of strong temperature-controlled supply chains.

Food loss and waste generate 8 to ten percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions, which the document says is “almost 5 times that of the aviation sector.”

Meanwhile, the toll of both food loss and waste on the global economy is estimated at roughly $1 trillion.

The UN Food Waste Index Report is tracking progress to meet the goal of halving food waste by 2030, particularly in retail and food services.

According to the report, many low- and middle-income countries continue to lack adequate systems to reach the goal.