17% of food produced is wasted globally: UN Report

NEW DELHI: A report by the United Nations Organisation (UNO) estimates that 17 per cent of the total food produced each year globally is wasted. This amounts to 931 million metric tons of food. This is far more than what previous reports indicated but direct comparisons are not viable due to difference in methodologies.

According to the report, most of the waste (61 per cent) comes from households while the food service sector accounts for 26 per cent, and retailers account for 13 per cent. The UN is making efforts to reduce the amount of food wasted in the countries and the researchers are working on the assessment of waste which includes the food before reaching consumers. The report also found that the food wasted in homes is not limited to the higher income countries such as United States of America (USA) and the United Kingdom (UK).

Food waste has become a growing concern because the production affects the environment including the land required to raise crops, animals involved and the greenhouse gas emissions which are produced along the way. The US Department of Agriculture suggests that a family of four people wastes about $1,500 in food every year. “Measuring the food wasted is difficult due to variety of reasons such as data availability,” said Jean Buzby, Food Researcher.