Humans waste 1-billion tonnes of food each year

A United Nations report has found that humans waste almost a billion tonnes of food a year.

The study found that on average each person wastes 74kg of food each year. This represents around eight meals per household each week.

The UN report also included data on food waste in restaurants and shops. It found that 17% of all food is dumped. On top of this food is also lost on farms and in supply chains. It means that overall a third of food made is never eaten.

The study found that if food waste was a country, it would have the third highest emissions after only the US and China.

Researchers said cutting food waste was one of the easiest ways for people to reduce their environmental impact.

Food waste had been thought of as a problem mostly affecting rich countries. But the UN report found levels of waste were surprisingly similar in all nations, though data is scarce in the poorest countries.

The report was produced to help in the global effort to meet the UN’s sustainable development goal of halving food waste by 2030.

Can you think of some ways that we can cut down food waste?