Industries in Depth

By 2030 we could throw away more than 2 billion tonnes of food

Pre-consumer food waste is stockpiled before being feed to black soldier fly larvae at the Enterra Feed Corporation in Langley, British Columbia, Canada, March 14, 2018.  Picture taken March 14, 2018.  REUTERS/Ben Nelms - RC197FAF9DC0

By 2030 the food we throw away could be worth $1.5 trillion. Image: REUTERS/Ben Nelms

Sonia Elks
Journalist, Reuters
Share:
Our Impact
What's the World Economic Forum doing to accelerate action on Industries in Depth?
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Agriculture, Food and Beverage is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
Stay up to date:

Agriculture, Food and Beverage

Food waste could rise by almost a third by 2030 when more than 2 billion tonnes will be binned, researchers said on Tuesday, warning of a "staggering" crisis propelled by a booming world population and changing habits in developing nations.

The United Nations has set a target of halving food loss and waste by 2030. But the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study found that if current trends continued, it would rise to 2.1 billion tonnes annually - an amount worth $1.5 trillion.

Image: BCG

"We are seeing a real crisis at a global level," one of the study's authors Esben Hegnsholt told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"The amounts of waste and the social, economic and environmental implications are serious if we don't change the trajectory. When we fight food loss and waste, we also fight hunger, poverty and global warming."

Around a third of the world's food is lost or thrown away each year. Currently, we waste 1.6 billion tons of food annually, worth about $1.2 trillion dollars.

Have you read?

Much of the projected increase was down to a swelling world population, with more people resulting in more waste, said Hegnsholt, a partner and managing director at the management consultancy.

Household waste will increase in developing countries as consumers gain more disposable income, said rhe report, which identified five key changes which it said could save nearly $700 billion in lost food.

Image: Statista

They included more awareness among consumers, stronger regulations and better supply chain efficiency and collaboration along the food production chain.

Liz Goodwin, director of the food loss and waste programme at the World Resources Institute, said the report raised serious issues but oversimplified some of the solutions.

"It's connected with the way our lives have changed and the fact that food is now so much cheaper," she said, also citing a growing demand for convenience and a lack of cooking skills among younger generations.

Goodwin said she believed measures to cut wastage were having an effect, and the world would at least be on the way to meeting the 50 percent reduction target by 2030.

Consumers, businesses and regulators would all have to play a role in driving change, she said.

"We need a shift in our attitudes to food waste – I think we need to get to the point where it just isn't acceptable to throw food in the bin," she said.

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Related topics:
Industries in DepthFood and WaterNature and Biodiversity
Share:
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

Why having low-carbon buildings also makes financial sense

Guy Grainger

September 18, 2024

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum