Indian and Chinese households top the global food wastage list
Jun 7, 2023
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A lot is going to waste
Have you ever cleaned your fridge and thrown away uneaten, almost rotting food? Here’s a not-so-fun fact, each one of us is wasting 74 kilos of food every year, according to data by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
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What’s the total waste?
931 million tonnes – that’s how much the world is wasting across households, retail establishments and the food service industry.
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Households, the biggest culprit
Nearly 570 million tonnes of the waste – i.e 61% of food waste – is generated at the household level.
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Whom can wasted food feed?
According to the United Nations, as many as 811 million people — that’s 10% of the world's population — regularly go to bed hungry.
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Greenhouse gasses
It’s not just what we eat, but what we waste that is also killing the environment. If food loss and waste were a country, it would be the third-biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions, says the UNEP Food Waste Index Report.
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The biggest wasters – India & China
China is on the top of the food waste chain with 91.6 million tonnes of household wastage per annum, which works out to 64 kilos of wastage per person.
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The Great Indian Kitchen
India holds the dubious distinction of being the country with the second-highest household wastage of food — at 68.7 million tonnes. Each Indian wastes around 50 kilos per annum.
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US stands at no 3
Every American household wastes as much as 59 kilos per annum, and the country stands third in terms of food wastage. It’s followed by Japan, Germany and France.
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How to stop the waste?
Since most of the wastage happens at the home level, addressing the role of consumer behaviour in all cultural contexts is important, the agency says.
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Buy less
Let us all shop carefully, cook creatively and make wasting food anywhere socially unacceptable, says UNEP.
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