Study: Third of world’s food goes to waste

A third of the world’s food is lost before it ever reaches anyone’s plate, a panel of global experts has warned as it called for a war on waste to improve worldwide diets.

Waste and spoilage in harvesting, storage, transport and shops accounts for an estimated 1.3 billion tonnes of food a year and squanders huge amounts of resources. At the same time, poor diet is now more of a threat to public health than infectious diseases like malaria and measles, the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition said.

Food rich in nutrients vital for a healthy diet is particularly prone to going off, or being wasted.

The panel led by Britain’s former chief scientific adviser, Sir John Beddington, estimated the value of wasted food reaches US$1 trillion ($1.48t) each year.

“Poor-quality diets are now a greater public health threat than malaria, tuberculosis or measles,” a new paper by the panel warns.

One-in-five deaths are now due to poor diet and that figure is likely to increase.

“Meanwhile, approximately one third of all the food produced for human consumption never reaches the consumer’s plate or bowl.”

Cutting back on the amount of food wasted would not only potentially save billions, but would also help hit targets to reduce malnutrition and improve diets causing disease. Land would be freed up and water supplies would be preserved.

“Each year more than half of all the fruits and vegetables produced globally are lost or wasted,” the panel reported.

The fight against global hunger has in recent decades relied on growing more starchy staple crops like grains. But while that has seen the proportion of starving people fall sharply, billions are left with unhealthy diets. Squandering less of the nutritious food already grown could dramatically improve diets, the panel said.

In developing countries, waste is high after food is harvested and while it is being processed, as poor storage and transport often leads to it spoiling or rotting. In developed countries there is high waste in shops and homes where food is thrown out.

“Reducing loss and waste in nutritious foods would yield substantial benefits far beyond addressing hunger and malnutrition,” the paper concludes.

“The gains made would contribute to the efficiencies needed to address climate change. Eating more of the nutrient-rich food already being produced would unlock savings in water and energy consumption, land use, and resources used in industrial food fortification.”