“Shameful”: Up to a third of the world’s food is wasted
We produce enough food to end hunger. Why isn't it ending up on more people's plates?
(Credit: Richard Thornton/Shutterstock)
The
difference between an adequate diet and malnutrition, for many countries
throughout the world, can be found in a landfill. A new report from the World Bank confirms
that anywhere from a quarter to a third of the food produced globally
is wasted, an amount that Jim Yong Kim, the organization’s president,
calls “shameful.”
In places like the U.S., the losses are higher because we have more to waste: The report found that about 61 percent of losses in North America occur during the consumption stage — when we bring food home and then leave it to rot (or throw it out under the mistaken assumption that it’s rotten). That calculates to about $1,600 a year being spent on uneaten food. In Sub-Saharan Africa, as a contrast, such behavior accounts for only 5 percent of losses — there, a full 87 percent of food is wasted during production, storage and transport, before it ever reaches the consumer.
In places like the U.S., the losses are higher because we have more to waste: The report found that about 61 percent of losses in North America occur during the consumption stage — when we bring food home and then leave it to rot (or throw it out under the mistaken assumption that it’s rotten). That calculates to about $1,600 a year being spent on uneaten food. In Sub-Saharan Africa, as a contrast, such behavior accounts for only 5 percent of losses — there, a full 87 percent of food is wasted during production, storage and transport, before it ever reaches the consumer.
advertisement
Lindsay Abrams is an assistant editor at Salon, focusing on
all things sustainable. Follow her on Twitter @readingirl, email
labrams@salon.com.
More Lindsay Abrams.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment-- or suggestions, particularly of topics and places you'd like to see covered