The World Food Programme is the largest humanitarian organization delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities all over the world to improve nutrition. WFP said global hunger is not about lack of food because the world produces enough food to nourish every child, woman and man on the planet.
The WFP said food loss is one of the root causes of hunger worldwide. Nearly a third of all food produced each year is squandered or lost before it can be consumed.
The Food and Agriculture Organization said around 14 percent of the world’s food (valued at $400 billion per year) continues to be lost after it is harvested and before it reaches the shops; while UNEP’s Food Waste Index Report shows that a further 17 percent of our food ends up being wasted in retail and by consumers, particularly in households. According to FAO estimates, the food that is lost and wasted could feed 1.26 billion hungry people every year.
“We each waste on average 74 kilograms of food every year, in middle-income countries as well as in high-income countries,” said Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director. “Halving food waste and cutting food loss is an important part of efforts to address the urgent climate and food crises.”
In the Philippines, rice, vegetables, and meat are the top three most wasted foods among Filipino households, based on the study “Does plate waste matter?: A two-stage cluster survey to assess the household plate waste in the Philippines” of the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI).
The study, which used the data from 20,151 Filipino households that participated in the 2018 Expanded National Nutrition Survey (ENNS), also found that households with the highest rice consumption were more likely to have rice wastage compared to households with the lowest consumption. It appears that there are more foods wasted in households with five or more members, and those residing in rural areas. Rice wastage is also more common in families with a household head whose age ranges from 50–69 years old, than those with a younger household head.
On the other hand, households with the highest vegetable consumption were more likely to waste vegetables compared to those with the lowest consumption. This implies that households incur more wastes when higher quantities are purchased, which most probably are not consumed and end up being thrown away due to spoilage.
Households composed of five or fewer members were found to have greater chances of wasting vegetables, which mirrors the results of a previous study that said larger households were more efficient in meal consumption.
The survey said fish, meat, and poultry plate waste was less likely in households with fewer than five members than in households with more than five members.
Households belonging to the richest quintile were found to have greater plate waste compared to the poorest quintile. Past studies showed higher income households wasted more food than lower-income households.
Plate waste in the Philippines is closely linked to hunger incidence. In the 2022 Global Hunger Index, the Philippines ranks 69th out of the 121 countries with sufficient data to calculate 2022 GHI scores. With a score of 14.8, the Philippines has a level of hunger that is considered moderate.
“Millions of Filipinos under poverty and experiencing food insecurity are struggling to be fed, and the food that is simply thrown away or discarded might actually be enough to feed them,” said Dr. Imelda Angeles‑Agdeppa, lead researcher, Director IV and Scientist IV of DOST-FNRI.
The study suggests that a more effective strategy for reducing food waste may be to train people to plan their meals and be conscious of the serving sizes of the food they prepare. Another way to avoid food waste is to store food appropriately. People also need to avoid overbuying of food items that easily spoil, especially at a time of inflated food prices.