Reducing Household Food Waste
Food waste is a global crisis that not only costs over US$1 trillion annually but also contributes to climate change and food insecurity.
By tackling food waste, we have the potential to protect the environment, reduce costs, and ensure a more equitable distribution of resources
Food waste is not only a market failure. It is also an environmental failure: food waste generates an estimated 8–10% of global greenhouse gas emissions (including from both loss and waste), and it takes up the equivalent of nearly 30% of the world’s agricultural land. The conversion of natural ecosystems for agriculture has been the leading cause of habitat loss. Just as urgently, food waste is failing people: even as food is being thrown away at scale, up to 783 million people are affected by hunger each year, and 150 million children under the age of five suffer stunted growth and development due to a chronic lack of essential nutrients in their diets.
How can reducing household food waste contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goal ?
In 2022, global food waste estimates revealed that 1.05 billion tonnes of food were wasted across households, food service, and retail sectors, equal to 132 kilograms per capita per year. Around 60% of this waste comes from households, 28% from food service, and 12% from retail. The most significant share from households highlights the role consumers play in food waste and its broader economic and environmental impacts.
Southern Asia provides a striking example, with household food waste estimates varying widely across the region. Pakistan had an average food wastage of 130 kg/capita/year against the global average of 132 kg/capita/year. It stands out due to high waste figures, while Mangolia had the lowest estimate at 18 kg/capita/year, attributed to practices like composting or using waste as animal feed in rural areas.
The urgency to reduce food waste is reflected in Sustainable Development Goal 12, particularly target 12.3, which commits to halving per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food loss across supply chains by 2030. Achieving this target represents a key opportunity to address both economic inefficiencies and major environmental and social challenges, including combating climate change and reducing food insecurity. Addressing food waste offers a rare convergence of solutions to pressing issues such as reducing costs, protecting natural ecosystems, and ensuring adequate nutrition for all.
GRAPHIC
Israeli military actions and genocidal campaigns have extended beyond the Gaza Strip, launching operations in the West Bank, Golan Heights, Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon, aiming to escalate the conflict regionally.
Despite widespread calls for ceasefire and dialogue, Israel has refused to enter peace negotiations. Instead, it has targeted high-profile leaders of the Iranian-backed Axis of Resistance.
This approach signals Israel's intention to extend its genocidal campaign and ulterior motives of occupation beyond Gaza and draw Iran into a broader regional conflict to dismantle the Axis of Resistance.
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