Loss & waste

Illustration: A vehicle rolls through the world field and destroys a large part of the plants.

What’s lost along the way?

To put 2000 calories on the plate, an average of 4600 calories have to be harvested from the fields worldwide. The Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that 1.3 billion tonnes (or 32 percent of all food) is either lost or wasted: in the field, after harvesting, during processing and transportation, in supermarkets, bakeries, restaurants and in private households.

In industrialised countries, food is now so cheap that its real value is no longer appreciated. This is true in agriculture, trade, industry, restaurants and in many private households. Everything must be available fresh until closing time, best-before dates are misleading, the waste bin is filling up. As long as it has been sold beforehand, waste means good business! In the non-industrial regions of the world, losses after the harvest are often higher due to the climate and lack of technology. Consumers there, on the other hand, are much more careful with their food.

Links

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    FAO (2013). Food wastage footprint examines the impact of food waste on climate, water, land use and biodiversity

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    FAO (2011). The study shows the losses along the entire food chain and estimates their extent.

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    The Food Waste Index Report 2024 provides an up-to-date overview of numerous aspects of global food waste and food losses.

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    Foodsharing - sharing food instead of throwing it away. Internet platform where private individuals, retailers and producers can offer or collect surplus food free of charge.

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    The International Food Waste Coalition campaigns against food waste throughout Europe. Here you will also find extensive background information.

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    The book accompanying the movie Food Destroyers: Why half of all food ends up in the trash and who is responsible for it contains many suggestions on how each individual can make a change.

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    In the food waste podcast "Teller statt Tonne", changing interview guests are presented with their innovative business ideas to combat food waste.

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