More than 1 billion tons of food lost or wasted every year: UN

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More than 1 billion tons of food lost or wasted every year: UN

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A United Nations research disclosed that 1.3 billion tons of food is lost or wasted each year in the world.

12 May,2011 09:17 pm

According to the United Nations report, the average consumer in Europe and North America wastes 95 to 115 kilograms of food a year, while his or her counterparts in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia or South-East Asia wastes only six to 11 kilograms of food.The report says that food waste is more of a problem in rich countries and food loss during production is a bigger issue in poor countries because of poor infrastructure and technology.For poorer countries, the report recommends measures to strengthen the food supply chain post-harvest, noting that many farmers miss out on valuable income because food is lost during harvest or in subsequent storage.Selling farm produce direct to consumers, without having to go through supermarkets and their over-emphasis on the appearance of foods, is another recommendation.The report also calls for a change in consumer attitudes to encourage them to not buy more food than they need at any one time and to not throw food away needlessly.