SDG Target 12.3 on Food Loss and Waste: 2019 progress report
Publication year
Resource type
UNCCD Library
Material Type
ebook
SDG Target 12.3- Around a third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted from the farm to the fork. This huge level of inefficiency has economic, social, and environmental impacts. Food loss and waste causes about $940 billion per year in economic losses. It exacerbates food insecurity and malnutrition. And food that is ultimately lost or wasted consumes about a quarter of all water used by agriculture, requires land area the size of China and is responsible for an estimated 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
If food wastage were a country, it would be the third largest emitting country in the world.
Reducing this food loss and waste is a “triple win.” Reductions can save money for farmers, companies, and households. Wasting less means feeding more. And reductions alleviate pressure on climate, water, and land resources.
How much food is lost and wasted in the world today and how can we prevent food losses? Those are questions impossible to give precise answers to, and there is not much ongoing research in the area. This is quite surprising as forecasts suggest that food production must increase significantly to meet future global demand. Insufficient attention appears to be paid to current global food supply chain losses, which are probably substantial.
Global food loss and waste generate annually 4.4 GtCO2 eq, or about 8% of total anthropogenic GHG emissions (5). This means that the contribution of food wastage emissions to global warming is almost equivalent (87%) to global road transport emissions (6).
The 2012 market value of food products lost or wasted was USD 936 billion; that is in the range of the GDP of countries such as Indonesia or the Netherlands.According to the methodology of the FAO report on full-cost accounting (3) and using the estimate of the social cost of carbon that mainly considers damage costs or defensive expenditures, the cost of GHG emissions from global food wastage is USD 411 billion.
The highest carbon footprint of wastage occurs at the consumption phase (37% of total), whereas consumption only accounts for 22% of total food wastage. This is because one kilogram of food that is wasted further along the supply chain will have a higher carbon intensity than at earlier stages. ( http://www.fao.org/nr/sustainability/food-loss-and-waste/en/)
Global food production must increase by 60% by 2050 in order to meet the demands of the growing world population. Yet, more than one third of the food produced today is lost or wasted. Food loss refers to the decrease in edible food mass at the production, post-harvest and processing stages of the food chain, mostly in developing countries. Food waste refers to the discard of edible foods at the retail and consumer levels, mostly in developed countries. This food wastage represents a missed opportunity to improve food security and comes at a steep environmental price.
The financial costs of food wastage are substantial and amount to about USD 1 trillion each year. However, food wastage also causes serious environmental impacts. Phase I of the project produced the first ever global Food Wastage Footprint (FWF) to quantify the impacts on the atmosphere, water, land and biodiversity. The project used an LCA model (see Concept Note 1 and Technical Document) to assess the magnitude of the environmental impacts of food wastage and identify ‘hotspots’ (for regions, commodities and stages of the food supply chain) where mitigation efforts should focus. A supplementary Toolkit was produced detailing best practices for the reduction of food wastage. The results were launched in September 2013 by the Director-Generals of FAO and UNEP.
The global full costs of food wastage amount to about 2.6 trillion USD per year, including USD 700 billion of environmental costs and USD 900 billion of social costs. Using the FCA framework, seven case studies investigated the socio-environmental benefits of different mitigation options. These results were presented to the FAO Regional Conference for Europe in April 2014.
About Champions 12.3- Champions 12.3 is a coalition of executives from governments, businesses, international organizations, research institutions, farmer groups, and civil society dedicated to inspiring ambition, mobilizing action, and accelerating progress toward achieving SDG Target 12.3 by 2030.
If food wastage were a country, it would be the third largest emitting country in the world.
Reducing this food loss and waste is a “triple win.” Reductions can save money for farmers, companies, and households. Wasting less means feeding more. And reductions alleviate pressure on climate, water, and land resources.
How much food is lost and wasted in the world today and how can we prevent food losses? Those are questions impossible to give precise answers to, and there is not much ongoing research in the area. This is quite surprising as forecasts suggest that food production must increase significantly to meet future global demand. Insufficient attention appears to be paid to current global food supply chain losses, which are probably substantial.
Global food loss and waste generate annually 4.4 GtCO2 eq, or about 8% of total anthropogenic GHG emissions (5). This means that the contribution of food wastage emissions to global warming is almost equivalent (87%) to global road transport emissions (6).
The 2012 market value of food products lost or wasted was USD 936 billion; that is in the range of the GDP of countries such as Indonesia or the Netherlands.According to the methodology of the FAO report on full-cost accounting (3) and using the estimate of the social cost of carbon that mainly considers damage costs or defensive expenditures, the cost of GHG emissions from global food wastage is USD 411 billion.
The highest carbon footprint of wastage occurs at the consumption phase (37% of total), whereas consumption only accounts for 22% of total food wastage. This is because one kilogram of food that is wasted further along the supply chain will have a higher carbon intensity than at earlier stages. ( http://www.fao.org/nr/sustainability/food-loss-and-waste/en/)
Global food production must increase by 60% by 2050 in order to meet the demands of the growing world population. Yet, more than one third of the food produced today is lost or wasted. Food loss refers to the decrease in edible food mass at the production, post-harvest and processing stages of the food chain, mostly in developing countries. Food waste refers to the discard of edible foods at the retail and consumer levels, mostly in developed countries. This food wastage represents a missed opportunity to improve food security and comes at a steep environmental price.
The financial costs of food wastage are substantial and amount to about USD 1 trillion each year. However, food wastage also causes serious environmental impacts. Phase I of the project produced the first ever global Food Wastage Footprint (FWF) to quantify the impacts on the atmosphere, water, land and biodiversity. The project used an LCA model (see Concept Note 1 and Technical Document) to assess the magnitude of the environmental impacts of food wastage and identify ‘hotspots’ (for regions, commodities and stages of the food supply chain) where mitigation efforts should focus. A supplementary Toolkit was produced detailing best practices for the reduction of food wastage. The results were launched in September 2013 by the Director-Generals of FAO and UNEP.
The global full costs of food wastage amount to about 2.6 trillion USD per year, including USD 700 billion of environmental costs and USD 900 billion of social costs. Using the FCA framework, seven case studies investigated the socio-environmental benefits of different mitigation options. These results were presented to the FAO Regional Conference for Europe in April 2014.
About Champions 12.3- Champions 12.3 is a coalition of executives from governments, businesses, international organizations, research institutions, farmer groups, and civil society dedicated to inspiring ambition, mobilizing action, and accelerating progress toward achieving SDG Target 12.3 by 2030.
Keywords
food waste
food loss
agriculture
food production
food security
consumption