Driven to Waste

The "Driven to Waste" report by WWF and Tesco examines the global impact of food loss and waste, revealing that approximately 2.5 billion tons of food go uneaten annually.

This figure significantly surpasses previous estimates of 1.3 billion tons, indicating that nearly 40% of all food produced is wasted. The report focuses on food losses occurring on farms during harvest, post-harvest, and slaughter stages, providing the first comprehensive update on farm-level food loss since 2011. Combined with supply chain and consumer-level data, the findings highlight the need for a systemic approach to halving food waste across the entire supply chain.

Food waste has profound environmental implications. Producing food requires extensive resources, including land, water, and energy. The report estimates that food waste contributes approximately 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions—more than double the emissions from all cars driven in the US and Europe annually. Additionally, 4.4 million km² of agricultural land and 760 km³ of water are used to produce the 1.2 billion tons of food lost before it reaches consumers. This resource use is equivalent to the size of the Indian subcontinent and the water in 304 million Olympic swimming pools, emphasizing the inefficiency and environmental toll of wasted food.

The report challenges the assumption that farm-level food loss is primarily a problem in less industrialized regions. It finds that high- and middle-income countries in Europe, North America, and industrialized Asia are responsible for 58% of global farm-stage losses, despite comprising only 37% of the world’s population. This contradiction underscores the role of industrialized farming systems in food waste and the need for targeted interventions in these regions.

The report calls for urgent action to address food loss at all stages of the supply chain. Reducing waste not only conserves resources but also mitigates climate change and enhances food security globally.