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United States of America:

In the United States 30% of all food, worth US$48.3 billion

(€32.5 billion), is thrown away each year. It is estimated that

about half of the water used to produce this food also goes

to waste, since agriculture is the largest human use of water.

Losses at the farm level are probably about 15–35%, depend-

ing on the industry. The retail sector has comparatively high

rates of loss of about 26%, while supermarkets, surprisingly,

only lose about 1%. Overall, losses amount to around US$90

billion–US$100 billion a year (Jones, 2004 cited in Lundqvist

et al

., 2008).

Africa:

In many African countries, the post-harvest losses of food cereals

are estimated at 25% of the total crop harvested. For some crops

such as fruits, vegetables and root crops, being less hardy than

cereals, post-harvest losses can reach 50% (Voices Newsletter,

2006). In East Africa and the Near East, economic losses in the

dairy sector due to spoilage and waste could average as much

as US$90 million/year (FAO, 2004). In Kenya, each year around

95 million litres of milk, worth around US$22.4 million, are lost.

Cumulative losses in Tanzania amount to about 59.5 million litres

of milk each year, over 16% of total dairy production during the

dry season and 25% in the wet season. In Uganda, approximately

27% of all milk produced is lost, equivalent to US$23 million/year

(FAO, 2004).

Asia:

Losses for cereals and oil seeds are lower, about 10–12%, accord-

ing to the Food Corporation of India. Some 23 million tonnes of

food cereals, 12 million tonnes of fruits and 21 million tonnes of

vegetables are lost each year, with a total estimated value of 240

billion Rupees. A recent estimate by the Ministry of Food Pro-

cessing is that agricultural produce worth 580 billion Rupees is

wasted in India each year (Rediff News, 2007 cited in Lundqvist

et al

., 2008).

Europe:

United Kingdom households waste an estimated 6.7 million

tonnes of food every year, around one third of the 21.7 million

tonnes purchased. This means that approximately 32% of all

food purchased per year is not eaten. Most of this (5.9 million

tonnes or 88%) is currently collected by local authorities. Most

of the food waste (4.1 million tonnes or 61%) is avoidable and

could have been eaten had it been better managed (WRAP, 2008;

Knight and Davis, 2007).

Australia:

In a survey of more than 1,600 households in Australia in 2004

on behalf of the Australia Institute, it was concluded that on a

country-wide basis, $10.5 billion was spent on items that were

never used or thrown away. This amounts to more that $5,000/

capita/year.

Environmental impacts of food waste

The impact of food waste is not just financial. Environmentally,

food waste leads to: wasteful use of chemicals such as fertilizers

and pesticides; more fuel used for transportation; and more rot-

ting food, creating more methane – one of the most harmful

greenhouse gases that contributes to climate change. Methane

is 23 times more potent than CO

2

as a greenhouse gas. The vast

amount of food going to landfills makes a significant contribution

to global warming. WRAP (Waste and Resource Action Program),

a UK based group, estimates that if food were not discarded in this

way in the UK, the level of greenhouse gas abatement would be

equivalent to removing 1 in 5 cars from the road (WRAP, 2007).

Other key facts and figures on food waste and losses