An estimated one third of all food produced in the world ends up as waste. Reducing food waste is good for the economy, good for food security and good for the climate. In this report, the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) estimates the value of global consumer food waste at more than US$400 billion per year.
February 2015
An estimated one third of all food produced in the world ends up as waste. Reducing food waste is good for the economy, good for food security and good for the climate. In this report, the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) estimates the value of global consumer food waste at more than US$400 billion per year. It identifies the incredible savings that can be realised by reducing food waste in the UK and countries around the world. The costs of decreasing food waste are relatively low, but the potential benefits are substantial. Less food waste leads to more efficiency, more economic productivity and reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. These findings should serve as a motivation to act for policymakers around the world. While food waste is currently valued at more than US$400 billion per year, as the global middle class expands, the cost could rise to US$600 billion within 15 years. By 2030, a 20-50% reduction in consumer food waste could save an estimated US$120-300 billion per year.
Reducing food waste has clear benefits for climate change mitigation. An astonishing 7% of all global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), or 3.3 billion tonnes per year, are due to food waste. WRAP estimates that by 2030 GHGs could be lowered by at least 0.2 to as much as 1 billion tonnes per year through food waste reductions. Governments and businesses should develop food waste prevention plans throughout the entire supply chain. In developing countries this requires much greater focus on reducing post-harvest losses early in the chain, through better pest and mould control technologies in storage. In developed countries and increasingly in the urban areas of emerging countries, policy should encourage initiatives to help reduce food waste at the consumer level, such as providing more appropriate pack sizes at the retail level, portion sizes in restaurants and addressing ambiguous date labelling that could lead to food being unnecessarily thrown away. The report highlights how practical changes in all countries, such as lowering the average temperatures of refrigerators or designing better packaging, can make a considerable difference in preventing food from spoiling.
Working Papers