Global Food: Waste Not, Want Not

10 January 2013. Today, we produce about four billion metric tonnes of food per annum. Yet due to poor practices in harvesting, storage and transportation, as well as market and consumer wastage, it is estimated that 30–50% (or 1.2–2 billion tonnes) of all food produced never reaches a human stomach. 

Furthermore, this figure does not reflect the fact that large amounts of land, energy, fertilisers and water have also been lost in the production of foodstuffs which simply end up as waste. This level of wastage is a tragedy that cannot continue if we are to succeed in the challenge of sustainably meeting our future food demands.

Read the Global Food report [PDF, 1MB]

SEE ALSO: Almost Half Of The World's Food Thrown Away, Report Finds, Guardian, January 10
SEE ALSO: Up To Half Of World's Food Goes To Waste, Reuters, January 10