1. Globally, over half of the food produced today is lost, wasted or discarded as a result of inefficiency in the human-managed food chain. (1)

2. Globally 1 in 7 people do not have enough food to be healthy. (2)

3. 10% of the greenhouse gas emissions from the West come from growing food that is never eaten. (3)

4. The UK generates over 16 million tonnes of food waste every year, costing an estimated £22 billion a year. (4)

5. Consumers waste on average 1/3rd of the food they buy, costing the average household £420 each year. (5)

6. In the UK every 1 tonne of food waste thrown away needlessly is responsible for 4.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions. (6)

7. It is estimated that 20% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions are associated with food production, distribution and storage.  If we stopped wasting food that could have been eaten it would be the same as taking 1/4 cars off UK roads.  The majority of these emissions are associated with embedded energy but a significant proportion arises as a result of food waste going to landfill sites. (7)

8.  Between 25-40% of UK fruit and vegetable crops are rejected by supermarkets. (3)

9. According to WRAP ‘UK retailers produce 1.6 million tonnes of food waste a year’. Tristram Stuart argues ‘WRAP [food waste] figures were based on data presented voluntarily by retailers themselves. This data generally lacked sufficient detail, and was not comparable – as some supermarkets only provided information on their back-of-store food waste, while others also included food waste in distribution. All of them did so on the condition of total secrecy, so the truth remains hidden from the public.’ (8)

10. In Wales we throw away 330,000 tonnes of food each year. If this ends up in landfill it will contribute to climate change because food waste left to rot in landfill emits methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas. Not only are the environmental implications huge but the financial ones are too – in Wales we buy, and then waste, around £500 million on food that could have been eaten. (9)

SOURCES

1. Murray, James, “UN calls for food waste revolution”, Business Green, 23 February 2009 <http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2237001/un-calls-food-waste-revolution>

2. The Government Office for Science (2011), The Future of Food and Farming, Reducing Waste, (pg 18)

3. Staurt, Tristram “Food Waste Facts”, Waste, May 2011.  < http://www.tristramstuart.co.uk/FoodWasteFacts.html>

4. Sustainable Food, “Written evidence written by WRAP”, Parliamentary Business. Parliament May 17 2011 <http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmenvaud/writev/food/m31.htm>

5. WRAP (2008), The Food we Waste, (pg 5)

6. WRAP (2008), The Food we Waste Executive Summary, (pg 3)

7. “Solutions to household food waste” WRAP, May 2011 <http://www.wrap.org.uk/retail_supply_chain/grocery/food/>

8. Stuart, Tristram (2009), Waste; Uncovering the Global Food Scandal, (P 25), London: Penguin Group

9. “Food Waste Recycling Blue Box” Mythr Tydfil, May 2011,  <http://www.merthyr.gov.uk/Home/Local+Services/Environmental+Services/Rubbish+Waste+and+Recycling/Food+waste+recycling+(blue+box).htm>