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in developed countries equals the entire food production of sub-
Saharan Africa (FAO 2014a). On average, 20 to 25 per cent of food
that is bought in developed countries is wasted by consumers
(Juul 2013), while in the United States, food loss and waste are
estimated to be as high as 50 per cent (Stuart 2009).
Food loss and waste are not only a threat to food security,
but also have significant economic costs. Globally, the direct
economic cost of food loss and waste is estimated at between
US$750 billion (FAO 2013b) and US$980 billion annually
(Gustavsson
et al.
2011b,c). The economic cost is highest in
developed countries, representing over 65 per cent of the
global cost (Gustavsson
et al.
2011b,c).
Food loss and waste are not only about lost calories for human
consumption, but also about the negative environmental
impacts and degradation of ecosystems that production of food
causes throughout the food supply chain. For example, it takes
over 1 600 litres of water to produce 1 kilogramme of wheat
bread (Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2010), or 5 060 litres of water
to produce 1 kilogramme of cheese (Mekonnen and Hoekstra
2012). The same amount of water is wasted if the food is never
consumed. In total it is estimated that about 28 million tonnes
of fertilizers are used annually to produce the food that is lost
and wasted (Lipinski
et al.
2013), while causing the threat of
eutrophication of nearby water ecosystems. A projected 5 to
25 per cent of the world’s food production capacity may be lost
by 2050 due to climate change, land degradation, cropland
losses, water scarcity and species infestations (Nellemann
et
al.
2009), which is equal to the food supply of an estimated
0.4–2.4 billion people by 2050. According to the FAO (2013b),
1.4 billion hectares of land are used to produce the amount of
food that is lost and wasted. The land area used to produce lost
and wasted food is more than 100 times the 13 million hectares
of forests that are being cleared every year (FAO 2010a), 80
per cent of which is for agricultural expansion (Kissinger
et
al.
2012). Developing countries account for about two-thirds
of all land used to produce food that is lost or wasted. On the
contrary they account for less than half of all food loss and
waste. The large share of land is to a great extent explained
by the countries’ reliance on grassland for feeding animals.
For example, in North Africa, Western Asia and Central Asia,
grasslands have low productivity, which increases the area
needed for grazing. Combined, food loss and waste occupy over
360 million hectares of land in these regions (FAO 2013b).
Food loss and waste are closely linked to climate change in
that petroleum fuels are heavily used in nearly all aspects of
food production. One estimate suggests that food loss and
waste have an annual carbon footprint of 3.3 giga-tonnes
of carbon dioxide (FAO 2013b). In the United States, about
300 million barrels of oil are used annually to produce food
that is lost or wasted. In addition, when food decomposes it
produces emissions of methane gas, which is 25 times more
potent than carbon dioxide in trapping heat, thus making food
waste a significant contributor to climate change (FAO 2012c). It
is a paradox that lost and wasted food threatens the production
of new food by contributing to climate change. According to
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2014:18)
“all aspects of food security are potentially affected by climate
change, including food access, utilization, and price stability”.
While estimated impacts differ between regions, some projects
suggest yield losses of more than 25 per cent for the period
2030 to 2049 compared to the late 20th century (IPCC 2014).