Half the world’s food output is wasted: study
10 Jan 2013
Giving a new twist to the term 'junk food', a study has found that as much as half of all the food produced in the world – about 2 billion tonnes of it – is simply thrown away.
The study published today by the UK's Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME) blames the "staggering" new figures on poor storage, unnecessarily strict sell-by dates, bulk offers like 'buy one, get one free', and consumer fussiness.
The Western demand for cosmetically perfect food has come in for particular criticism. The study found that up to 30 per cent of vegetables in the UK were not harvested because of their physical appearance.
The report, 'Global Food; Waste Not, Want Not', suggested that half the food bought in Europe and the US was thrown away. The worldwide figure is only a little lower, and well over 30 per cent.
The institution's Dr Tim Fox said, "The amount of food wasted and lost around the world is staggering. This is food that could be used to feed the world's growing population - as well as those in hunger today.
"It is also an unnecessary waste of the land, water and energy resources that were used in the production, processing and distribution of this food,'' Fox said.