The darkest side of food: food waste & losses

When we scrape off our dishes after a large meal, being too full to finish the remaining scraps on our plate, we rarely pause and think about the significance of our actions. It seems normal to us: if we have leftover food scraps that are unfit for eating, shouldn’t they be thrown in the garbage? Our routine practices, unfortunately, make it difficult for us to conceptualize the magnitude of global food waste. The problem is bigger than we think and here you will find some numbers and facts that will show you that you should be more aware of your food wasting habits.

According to Boston Consulting Group, roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year gets lost or wasted. That is approximately 1.6 billion tonnes corresponding to 1.200 billions of U.S. dollars. Just to give an idea of these numbers, if accumulated, all the wasted food would occupy an area ten times bigger than Manhattan, or, as you prefer, there would be enough food to build a mountain 2.500 m high.

The causes are complex and occur at the stages of production, handling and storage, processing and packaging , retailing and above all, consumption, especially in developed countries.

“...if accumulated, all the wasted food would occupy an area ten times bigger than Manhattan.”

Of course there are a series of problems correlated to the waste of food that are reflected dramatically in our everyday lives, with consequences that are unthinkable and most of the time also, underestimated.

Here are some important facts and serious consequences generated from the loss and waste of food that will help you to understand how serious this issue is:

• About 1.4 billion hectares, or close to 30% of available agricultural land, is used to grow or farm food that is subsequently wasted. This is particularly alarming given estimates that by 2050 food production will need to increase by 60% compared to 2005 levels to keep up with population growth.

• The amount of water required to produce the food that we subsequently waste every year on a global scale is about 250000 billion litres. This could supply New York’s domestic water needs for the next 120 years, at current rates.

• The direct economic cost of food waste of agricultural products (excluding fish and seafood) globally, based on producer prices only, is about 750 billion U.S. dollars, equivalent to the GDP of Switzerland.

• Even if just one-fourth of the food currently lost or wasted globally could be saved, it would be enough to feed 870 million hungry people in the world

• The carbon footprint of food produced and not eaten is estimated at 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gases: making food wastage the third top GHG emitter after the U.S. and China.

These facts are extremely shocking and these insights give you the idea of what is happening and a dark image of the future. Fortunately governments and organizations started to take initiatives and implementing laws but, the situation still remains dramatic.

Even you, dear traveller, can contribute, in your little, to save this situation. Next time you will scrape off your dishes maybe you’ll think twice, because 60% of our food waste at home is avoidable.

Think. Be a smart shopper and think about what you are buying and when it will be eaten.

Eat. Become a more mindful eater.

Save. Save your food, save your money and save the environment