UNEP’s findings highlight how everyday food habits contribute to a global problem—and why measuring waste is essential to reducing it.
Households worldwide wasted the equivalent of more than one billion meals a day in 2022, according to the United Nations Environment Programme’s Food Waste Index Report 2024.
Published on 27 March 2024 and produced with environmental organisation WRAP, the report examines food waste across households, food-service businesses and retailers. Its findings place everyday kitchens at the centre of efforts to prevent food from being discarded.
Across those three sectors, an estimated 1.05 billion tonnes of food waste were generated in 2022. Households accounted for 60% of the total, compared with 28% from food services and 12% from retail.
The tonnage includes inedible parts, so it should not be interpreted as entirely consisting of meals that could have been eaten. Nevertheless, the household share demonstrates the importance of addressing waste after food reaches consumers.
The problem extends across income levels. UNEP found relatively small differences in average household food waste per person between high-income, upper-middle-income and lower-middle-income countries. Its findings challenge the assumption that food waste is mainly a wealthy-country issue.
Understanding the scale of waste is only a starting point. The report emphasises consistent measurement so countries can establish reliable baselines, identify where reductions are possible and track whether policies are working.
The 2024 edition expanded the available evidence and provided more detailed guidance for measuring waste in different settings. It also examined solutions, including partnerships between public authorities and businesses.
That measurement principle has a straightforward household application: noticing what repeatedly ends up in the bin. Forgotten vegetables, duplicate purchases and portions that remain uneaten reveal different problems, each requiring a different adjustment.
A household that regularly discards unused ingredients might begin by checking cupboards and the refrigerator before shopping. One that throws away cooked food could review portion sizes and plan how to use leftovers safely.
These are practical starting points rather than a complete response to a problem spanning homes, restaurants and shops. The report’s focus on coordinated action recognises that reducing waste requires changes across the food system.
For households, the first useful question is concrete: which food gets discarded most often, and what would prevent that waste on the next shopping trip?
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