Food loss and waste

Common card · No. 277413

Food loss and waste is food that is discarded or otherwise lost uneaten. This occurs throughout all the processes involved in the food system, during production, processing, distribution, retail, and consumption, but most food waste is created after consumers buy the food. Overall, about one-third of the world's food is thrown away, and a huge amount of resources used in food production are wasted. Global food waste amounts to 931 million tonnes annually (about 121 kg per person) across three sectors: 61 percent from households, 26 percent from food service and 13 percent from retail. Food waste is addressed through prevention (e.g. by food preservation), reuse (e.g. food donation), animal feed, or recycling. Discarding food in landfills is to be avoided because it is a major source of the greenhouse gas methane. Reducing food waste in all parts of the food system is an important part of reducing the environmental impact of agriculture, by reducing the total amount of water, land, and other...

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