Clean your plate – to reduce food loss and waste

In fact, throwing out lunchtime leftovers or wilted lettuce only adds to the mountain of discarded food decomposing in landfills that produces the powerful greenhouse gas methane, accounting for some eight to 10 per cent of global emissions. 

This includes spoiled crops – food that is lost after harvest and before even reaching stores. 

A billion meals wasted 

Every day, over a billion meals are left uneaten, whether due to excess food production, spoilage or poor meal planning, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).  

The issue is in the spotlight on the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, observed on 29 September – convened by UNEP and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).  

This year, focus is on the link with protecting forests and ensuring sustainable agrifood systems. 

“Using the food we already produce more efficiently can reduce pressure on land and forests and help feed more people,” said Michael Muratha, a Programme Manager at UNEP, speaking from its headquarters in Nairobi. 

Moreover, having healthy forests also support food production in several ways, including by protecting soils and regulating rainfall. 

Cold comfort 

UNEP is highlighting how taking action can reduce losses by promoting measures such as investing in better food handling, storage and transport. 

Mr. Muratha stressed that strengthening cold chain systems for perishable foods is also important. 

“In Kenya, a cooperative of 179 farmers near Nairobi was losing up to 40 per cent of its crops after harvest before receiving cold-storage and refrigerated transport equipment,” he said. 

Better storage can also help farmers to cope with climate impacts, such as droughts, floods and periods of food scarcity, while reducing losses of nutritious foods in a world where 2.6 billion people cannot afford to eat a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables. 

“That’s why it’s really important to take these measures to preserve and conserve and reduce losses of food,” he said. 

UNEP is also backing efforts to redirect safe surplus food to people who need it, such as children at daycare centres in underserved communities. 

Innovation at all levels 

The agency is further showcasing inventive ways – from simple to cutting edge – to keep food out of landfills. 

“Innovation can help at different points where food is lost or wasted, and it does not always have to be high-tech,” Mr. Muratha insisted. 

He pointed to the example of Favela Orgânica, a project in Brazil that teaches communities, street vendors and chefs to use ingredients that are often thrown away such as banana peels and broccoli stalks. 

“AI is also showing promise,” he added.  “In a UNEP-supported initiative involving 13 hotels, AI tools helped measure discarded food and adjust purchasing and preparation, reducing post-consumer breakfast waste by 62 per cent in four months.” 

Last year, UNEP and partners launched the Food Waste Breakthrough initiative at the UN COP31 climate change conference in Brazil with the goal of halving food waste by 2030, reducing methane emissions and supporting climate action. 

Mr. Muratha said taking action could help reduce some of the more than $1 trillion lost globally each year through food loss and waste, while every dollar invested in prevention saves cities $8 and households $84. 

“For communities, it means more food reaching people and greater resilience when harvests, prices or supply chains are disrupted,” he said. 

“It will not end hunger on its own, but it is an important part of building more secure and sustainable food systems.”