Annual Food Waste Per Capita Reaches 74 Kilograms

Per Capita Annual Food Waste: 74 Kilograms According to a report published in September by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on the occasion of the "International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste," approximately 11 billion tonnes of food are produced globally each year. Of this production, 13% is wasted during the supply chain from harvest to sale, and 17% is wasted in households, food sector operations and retail. Fruits and vegetables account for approximately 32% of food wasted in the supply chain, while meat and animal products account for 12.4%. Per capita annual food waste amounts to an average of 74 kilograms. In contrast, 783 million people worldwide struggle with hunger, and 3.1 billion people cannot eat healthily. According to UN experts who prepared the report, by 2050, if world population reaches the projected 9.6 billion, meeting people's food needs as today would require three separate planets the size of Earth. According to the study, agricultural activities conducted in many parts of the world are not sustainable, and these production methods are leading to the shrinkage of farmland. Greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural food production account for one-third of total global emissions, and these production methods cause biodiversity and water loss. Experts point out that the global food system is vulnerable to extreme climate events, while calling for immediate action to improve agricultural food production on a global scale. The report includes recommendations such as conducting resilience and productivity work in agriculture, making investments in proper logistics methods and climate-friendly technologies to reduce food loss in the supply chain. [caption id="attachment_157660" align="aligncenter"] Source: AA - Yeşilhat[/caption]

"Sustainability in agriculture is the fundamental issue of the food crisis"

Prof. Dr. İlkay Dellal, Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics at Ankara University Faculty of Agriculture and Head of the Department of Climate Change and Sustainability, stated that sustainability in agriculture is the fundamental issue of the food crisis. Dellal reported that factors such as increased food demand due to population and income growth, pressures on natural resources and biological diversity, environmental degradation and climate change limit sustainability in agriculture, and noted that the primary condition for food security is ensuring the continuity of the agricultural sector that produces food.

Prof. Dr. Dellal continued as follows:

"For agricultural sustainability, agricultural income must provide for the livelihood of farmers and their families and be sufficient for production and investments. The living standards of individuals living in rural areas should not lag behind those of urban dwellers. Production methods that respect water, soil, vegetation and animals should be adopted, and ultimately, food produced with so much effort must be protected in terms of quantity and quality throughout all processes from production to consumption, and losses and waste must be reduced."  

Type of waste varies according to level of development

Referring to the processes by which produced food is lost in the supply chain and explaining that the loss and waste of each product varies according to the characteristics of the product and the development level of countries, Dellal shared the following information: "The rate of loss and waste is higher at the consumption stage in developed countries and at the production stage in developing countries. Among product groups, the loss and waste rate is higher in perishable products within the supply chain. According to a study we conducted specifically for Turkey, while approximately 20% loss and waste occurs in wheat throughout the entire supply chain, this rate reaches 53% in tomatoes." Evaluating that product losses will decrease with increased information and improved technology use in the supply chain, Dellal stated, "Conducting operations correctly and on time throughout the entire chain from farm to table will reduce loss rates, while awareness and consciousness-raising efforts at the consumer stage will prevent waste."  

"Urban people waste food more easily because they see it on the shelf as a product"

Stating that urban people do not know the journey of the food that reaches their table, and that this is one of the most important causes of food waste, Dellal continued as follows: "Agricultural production is a very laborious and high-risk process. For some products, the farmer and their family need to be at the helm of the operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Because they are dealing with a living organism. A dairy cow producing milk must be fed and watered every day, tomatoes must be planted, watered, hoed and picked individually. Food produced with this much effort and labor is harder to discard or not use in rural areas compared to urban areas. The lower waste rate in rural areas is one reason for this. The fact that urban people see food on the shelf as a product leads to it being wasted more easily." Noting that conscious individuals at each stage of the system for sustainable food will reduce food waste, Dellal added that becoming aware of the production process of the product, purchasing only what is needed, following proper storage and usage conditions, knowing revaluation methods and imparting this knowledge to all individuals starting from children through education are the most important ways to prevent waste.   Source