The Enormous Scale Of Global Food Waste [Infographic]

The Enormous Scale Of Global Food Waste [Infographic]

Global food waste is well on the way to becoming a billion tonne problem. The United Nations Environment Programme's 2021 Food Waste Index has found that an estimated 931 million tonnes of food ends up in the trash every year. Most of that figure, 569 million tonnes, falls under the category of household waste while the food service and retail sectors account for a further 244 and 118 million tonnes, respectively. On a per capita basis, the average global household wastes 74kg of food each year, a figure that's broadly similar across country income groups which indicates that widespread improvement is necessary. The latest figures recorded by UNEP show that the scale of the problem has been dramatically underestimated with the global waste at consumer level more than twice as high as a previous FAO estimate.

The index notes that if food loss and waste were a country, it would be the third biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet. So just how much food do different countries throw away each year? Perhaps unsurprisingly, the two countries with the largest populations generate the highest food waste totals, according to the report. China came first with an estimated