The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste
The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste is an opportunity to call to action both the public (national or local authorities) and the private sector (businesses and individuals), to prioritise actions and move ahead with innovation to reduce food loss and waste towards restoring and building back better and resilient-ready, food systems.
Dr Tarek Elsheikh, Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Resident Coordinator in State of Kuwait said: “Reducing food losses and waste is essential in a world where the number of people affected by hunger has been slowly on the rise since 2014, and tons of edible food are lost and/or wasted every day. Globally, around 14 % of food produced is lost between harvest and retail, while an estimated 17 % of total global food production is wasted (11 % in households, 5 % in the food service and 2 percent in retail).”
Dr Elsheikh Added “Kuwait Government, private sector, activists, and NGOs voiced their challenges and suggested solutions regarding the food loss and waste in the recent United Nations Food Systems Summit Talk series in Kuwait – many of the participants have their own initiatives in managing food waste to elevate their lifestyle and livelihood. The local farmers in Kuwait grow their organic foods and vegetables throughout the year and created agricultural studies in which they have an expectation of their crop volume throughout the year. This act falls under the core of the SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production) and the responsibility for the sustainability for future generation. The United Nations look into ways of merging positive impact on people to have full awareness of the importance of production, consumption, and managing the food waste. In Kuwait, a growing interest amongst many individuals, companies, and even governmental organizations started initiatives such as recycling food waste to use as fertilizers and filtering sewage water and these small actions have a significant impact on the whole words, and Kuwait’s efforts have been visible through the series of national dialogues in collaboration with the public, private sectors and youth groups who are invested in improving the food chain supplies leading to their involvement in the United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021”
Food loss and waste undermine the sustainability of our food systems. When food is lost or wasted, all the resources that were used to produce this food – including water, land, energy, labour and capital – go to waste. In addition, the disposal of food loss and waste in landfills, leads to greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate change. Food loss and waste can also negatively impact food security and food availability and contribute to increasing the cost of food.
“ We are committed to supporting countries in scaling up initiatives related to food waste, especially after our office launched State of Food Waste in West Asia report on the 21st of July this year which shed light on Food Waste in West Asia. And today is a significant day to raise awareness on this crucial matter and its possible solutions at all levels, where everyone could play a role in addressing Food Waste at home, at school, at work, far and wide to help achieving SDG 12 collectively.” Mr. Sami Dimassi – UNEP Representative and Regional Director for West Asia.
Technical Input:
- The UNEP Regional Office of West Asia (ROWA) recently published the State of Food Waste in West Asia report that sets out a comprehensive view of the current situation across the region, in which around 34% of the food served is wasted, with an estimation ranging from 100 to 150kg/cap of food waste occurring at the household stage, similar to levels in Western Europe and North America. Furthermore, Arab countries have unique features from their culture, religion, history, generating significant amounts of food waste over short periods. For instance, during Ramadan, research shows that from 25% to 50% of the food prepared is wasted. Promoting sustainable lifestyles and empowering youth generation could be effective strategies to positively impact at consumer level.
- Collecting data on national food waste generation is a main driver to understand the scale of the problem, target hotspots, and assess policy actions. Several countries of the West Asia region need consistent support in setting food waste baselines to track national progress and to report on SDG 12.3.
- In Kuwait some studies have been carried out to examine food consumption patterns (e.g. Aljamal and Bagnied, 2012) and the UNEP Food Waste Index report 2021 estimates that almost 400,000 tonnes (equivalent to 95 kg/cap) of food waste are generated every year at the household stage.
- In the country there are several initiatives driven by civil society organizations, such as the Kuwait Food Bank and Refood-Kuwait, which aim at reducing food waste by redistributing surplus food.
Did you know?
- Globally, around 14 % of food produced is lost between harvest and retail. Significant quantities are also wasted in retail and at the consumption level.
- An estimated 17 % of total global food production is wasted (11% in households, 5 % in the food service and 2 % in retail).
- Food that is lost and wasted accounts for 38 % of total energy usage in the global food system.