Global households are discarding an exorbitant amount of food every year, despite food insecurity remaining one of the top concerns in several regions around the world, according to a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme.
Households across all continents wasted more than 1 billion meals per day in 2022, according to the UNEP’s Food Waste Index Report, released Wednesday.
The annual cost of the food wasted is estimated to be worth more than $1 trillion and weigh in at 1.05 billion metric tons, according to the report.
Nearly one-fifth (19%) of the food available to consumers at the retail, food service and household level was wasted, according to the report.
Most of the world’s food waste comes from households, accounting for approximately 60% (631 million metric tons) of the total food waste in 2022. Food service and retail sectors accounted for around 28% and 12% respectively, the authors estimated.
An individual wastes, on average, approximately 79 kilograms — or about 174 pounds — of food annually, the report found.
