The Problem

One third of food produced globally is wasted - that is 1.3 billion tonnes of food that is never eaten - worth over $1 trillion and could feed around 3 billion people each year. Food waste is creating environmental and economic issues that need to be resolved. 

We might not realise how much of a problem food waste is because we are blind to its effects. When we throw our food into the bin it releases methane, a harmful greenhouse gas that we don´t see. We also don’t see the fuel and resources that went into producing the food or see the people around the world who are hungry. All we see is an apple in the bin.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimate that food waste is responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions in the world soIf food waste was a country, it would be the third largest producer of carbon emission behind China and the United States.

To put the facts into perspective  28% of the world’s agricultural area – is used annually to produce food that is lost or wasted. That’s equivalent to a land mass the size of China being used to grow food that is never eaten!

So when we are throwing away food, we are also throwing away all the resources that were needed to produce the food. Just like the proverbial tip of an iceberg – the biggest part of the problem is hidden from our sight.

Food waste has a huge impact on our economy, hurting the environment and in most cases may be completely unnecessary. While these stats are all very depressing and rather hard to relate to, there is good news. There is a way to resolve the problem - to be the part of the solution! Click hereand get ideas how to be the change!