ABOUT 19 per cent of food produced globally in 2022 was wasted, according to a damning new United Nations report published today.

The UN Environment Programme’s food waste index report, co-authored with Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), found that each person wastes about 174lbs of food annually, equal to at least 1 billion meals wasted worldwide daily.

About 60 per cent of the waste was from households, while about 28 per cent came from food service, or restaurants and approximately 12 per cent from retailers.

Report co-author Clementine O'Connor said that the problem could be tackled “through collaboration and systemic action.”

The report comes at a time when 783 million people around the world face chronic hunger and many places face deepening food crises.

Food waste is also a global concern because of the environmental toll of production, including the land and water required to raise crops and animals and the harmful greenhouse gas emissions it produces.

Food loss and waste generates 8 to 10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. 

Richard Swannel, a co-author and director of Impact Growth at WRAP, said that food waste “is not a rich world problem. It’s a global problem.

“The data is really clear on this point: that here is a problem right around the world and one that we could all tackle tomorrow to save ourselves money and reduce environmental impact,” he said.

The report said that food redistribution — including donating surplus food to food banks and charities — is significant in tackling food waste among retailers.

Non-profit Food Banking Kenya gets surplus food from farms, markets, supermarkets and packing houses and redistributes it to schoolchildren and vulnerable populations.

The group’s co-founder and executive director John Mukuhi said: “We positively impact the society by providing nutritious food and also by reducing the emission of harmful gases.”