78 crore face chronic hunger, yet world wastes 19% food: UN

Nairobi (Kenya), March 27

The world wasted an estimated 19 per cent of the food produced globally in 2022, or about 1.05 billion (100 crore) metric tonne, according to a new United Nations report. The UN Environment Programme's Food Waste Index Report, published Wednesday, tracks the progress of countries to halve food waste by 2030.

The UN said the number of countries reporting for the index nearly doubled from the first report in 2021. The 2021 report estimated that 17 per cent of the food produced globally in 2019, or 931 million

(93.1 crore) metric tonne, was wasted, but authors warned against direct comparisons because of the lack of sufficient data from many countries.

Researchers analysed country data on households, food service and retailers. They found that each person wastes about 79 kg of food annually, equal to at least 1 billion meals wasted worldwide daily.

The report comes at a time when 78.3 crore people around the world face chronic hunger and many places facing deepening food crises. The Israel-Hamas war and violence in Haiti have worsened the crisis, with experts saying that famine is imminent in northern Gaza. — AP

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