One-third of the world's food goes to waste, says FAO

[Prince]

One-third of the world's food goes to waste, says FAO
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/may/12/food-waste-fao-report-security-poor

1.3bn tonnes of food is lost or wasted each year, UN food agency
report says, and reducing losses in developing countries could have
'immediate and significant' impact on poor people

One-third of the world's food produced for human consumption is lost
or wasted each year, according to a study (pdf) released on Wednesday
by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Roughly 1.3bn tonnes of food is either lost or wasted globally due to
inefficiencies throughout the food supply chain, says the report,
based on research by the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology
(Sik). Amid rising global food prices, the study says that reducing
food losses in developing countries could have an "immediate and
significant" impact on livelihoods and food security in some of the
world's poorest countries.

According to the report, industrialised and developing countries waste
or lose roughly the same amount of food each year – 670m and 630m
tonnes respectively. But while rich countries waste food primarily at
the level of the consumer, the main issue for developing countries is
food lost due to weak infrastructure – including poor storage,
processing and packaging facilities that lack the capacity to keep
produce fresh. Food losses mean lost income for small farmers and
higher prices for poor consumers in developing countries, says the
study.

The average European or North American consumer wastes 95kg-115kg of
food a year, above all fruits and vegetables. In contrast, the average
consumer in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia or south-east Asia wastes
only 6kg-11kg. The study notes that in developing countries poverty
and limited incomes make it unacceptable to waste food, and that poor
consumers in low-income countries generally buy smaller amounts of
food at a time.

Food wasted by consumers in rich countries (222m tonnes) is roughly
equal to the entire food production of sub-Saharan Africa (230m
tonnes).

Looking for solutions, the report argues that reducing reliance on
retailers such as big supermarkets could help cut food waste in the
north, and suggests promoting the direct sale of farm produce to
consumers. It also encourages retailers and charities to work
together, to distribute unsold but perfectly edible food that would
otherwise go to waste.

For developing countries, the study says the key lies in strengthening
food supply chains, urging investment in infrastructure and
transportation, along with increased attention to food storage,
processing and packaging.

While world food prices fell slightly in March this year – after eight
months of successive increases – the overall cost of food in April was
36% higher than it was last year. Prices of wheat, maize and soya
reached levels last seen in 2008, when a global food crisis sparked
food riots across the developing world. Last month, the World Bank
said that rising food prices had pushed 44 million more people into
extreme poverty, and the World Bank president, Robert Zoellick, added
that an additional 10 million people could soon fall below the $1.25 a
day extreme poverty line unless immediate action was taken to increase
the supply of food.

But the FAO-backed report says: "Food production must clearly increase
significantly to meet the future demands of an increasing and more
affluent world population … In a world with limited natural resources
(land, water, energy, fertiliser), and where cost-effective solutions
are to be found to produce enough safe and nutritious food for all,
reducing food losses should not be a forgotten priority."

 

--
Prem Prakash Prince