Food Losses and Waste: UNEP releases new index report

An estimated 931 million tonnes of food, or 17 percent of total food available to consumers in 2019, went into the waste bins of households, retailers, restaurants and other food services, say the United Nations Environment Programme  (UNEP) and its partner organization WRAP in its new Food Waste Index Report 2021.

The report, which complements FAO’s Food Loss Index, finds that in nearly every country which  was measured, food waste was substantial, regardless of the income level of the population. The report explains that most of this waste comes from households, which discard 11 percent of all food available at the consumption stage.

FAO’s Food Loss Index measures food losses throughout the supply chain at the national level, from agricultural production to the retail stage. FAO estimates that in this process, around 13.8 percent globally is being lost.

In its State of Food and Agriculture 2019 report, FAO provided a comprehensive analysis of the critical loss points in specific supply chains. The SOFA report provides insights into how much food is lost - as well as where and why - at different stages of the food supply chain. It also calls for informed decisions for more effective reductions and offers new ways to measure progress.