Food Loss and Food Waste

Globally, 13.2 percent of food is lost in the supply chain after harvest on farms and before the retail stages. Nineteen percent more is wasted at the retail, food service and household levels, according to 2024 UNEP statistics.

Actively preventing and reducing food loss and waste

Food loss and waste (FLW) currently represent a pressing challenge in the design of sustainable food systems. FLW negatively impacts food security and nutrition and accounts for an estimated 8 to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, it causes environmental pollution, degradation of natural ecosystems, and biodiversity loss.

Tackling food loss and waste is a defined target within the internationally agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDG target 12.3). As custodians of this target, FAO and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) measure and monitor progress on efforts to reduce food loss and waste against the Global Food Loss and Waste Index.

Key messages

Investing in producing, harvesting, handling and distributing safe and nutritious food of good quality for human consumption will contribute to the reduction of food losses and food waste. Reducing food losses has the potential to generate win-wins across all dimensions of the hunger targets – by improving food availability, food access and smallholder incomes (SDG 2 - Zero Hunger) and by upholding Climate action, Life below water and Life on land (respectively SDGs 13, 14 and 15).

This way, both help reduce food insecurity while benefitting the environment.

It also represents a highly inefficient use of resources (e.g. labour, water, energy and land), has an effect on climate change and contributes to other negative social impacts all of which are avoidable. Collaboration and partnerships of all stakeholders along the food supply chain are essential to reduce food loss and waste. Realizing and maximizing the positive impacts of reducing food loss and waste requires governance structures and human capital development as well as investments in infrastructure, technology and innovation.

Improved data availability on where the food loss and waste occurs, and the underlying causes and drivers will benefit the design and development of policies, strategies, and interventions to reduce food loss and waste.

These processes contribute to focusing efforts, mobilizing resources and guaranteeing the implementation of impactful action towards accomplishing the 2030 Agenda.

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