Where Food Loss Is Highest and Lowest

Around 13 percent of global food is estimated to be lost each year from the farm up to before it is sold, according to data from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. Food loss impacts global food insecurity and food availability, in turn driving up food costs. At the same time its large greenhouse gas footprint exacerbates the climate change crisis, for example, when food decomposes in landfill and produces methane. September 29 is International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, a day dedicated by the UN to raising awareness around the topic.

The UN categorizes food waste and food loss separately. Where food loss focuses on food that has spoiled at some point along the supply chain - for example, in harvest, storage, transportation or primary processing - food waste is the food thrown out by households and retailers. Combined global food loss and waste were estimated to account for some 1.3 billion tonnes of food in 2011, which was roughly a third of the total food produced. According to an article published by Nature, the highest shares of food loss and waste are of fruit and vegetables, followed by fish and seafood.

Western Africa, the Caribbean, Southern Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Small Island Developing Island States are the regions with the highest share of food loss worldwide. According to the FAO, food loss is generally greater in developing countries due partly to structural limitations, for example, at the harvesting, storage and transport stages. Eastern Europe and Micronesia are at the other end of the spectrum, with five percent and 7.34 percent of food losses, respectively. Northern America is slightly below the global average, at 11.72 percent.

In terms of food waste, higher-income countries tend to have slightly higher levels per capita. However, in recent years, the gap between different income groups has been narrowing.