Every bite we waste

A 2021 study by the United Nations Environment Program finds the world wastes one billion

tons

of food annually — this emerges at a time when food insecurity is rising globally, one in nine people lacking sufficient food to eat. More lives are lost to hunger each day than to malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS combined. Yet, the world wastes one-third of the food produced annually. This also takes a tremendous environmental toll.

Food waste

by households and industry causes 10% of the

emissions

driving climate change. With enormous amounts of land, water, chemicals and fuel spent in generating, transporting and selling food, each wasted morsel represents a degradation of nature that need not have been — one discarded apple wastes the 125 litres of water on average that go into producing it.



Food decomposing in landfills further adds to greenhouse gas emissions, releasing methane which is 25 times stronger than carbon dioxide at warming the planet. Scientists estimate if food waste were a country, it would have the third highest emissions on

Earth

after the US and China. Significantly, the more humans waste, the more we deprive our fellow species — 90% of animal species will lose habitats due to human wastefulness driving agricultural expansion by 2050. Food waste embodies indifference and greed, perilous mindsets as we stand at the brink of an ecological emergency. However, awareness is growing and, as Times Evoke’s global experts emphasise, so are mitigation strategies.




It is possible to reuse food to produce biogas, harnessing food to energy. Neighbourhoods can collaboratively compost household food waste while social groups can organise food donations. Governments can limit the amount of food waste sent to landfills while incentivising citizens to repurpose food via benefit schemes.

Industry can boost storage facilities and encourage restaurants and retail to measure discarded food, making this visible — and solvable. A circular food economy can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, equalling a billion cars less on the streets. Join Times Evoke on a vibrant exploration of strategies to change each bite we waste into each bite that adds value.