- Food waste continues to hurt the global economy and fuel climate change, nature loss and pollution
- The report was published on Wednesday, ahead of the International Day of Zero Waste
Kenya is among countries with high levels of food waste, a new report has said.
The Unep Food Waste Index Report 2024, co-authored with the Waste and Resources Action Programme , shows that there was a loss of more than one billion meals a day in 2022.
The massive loss of food happens despite 783 million people being affected by hunger globally and a third of humanity facing food insecurity.
Food waste continues to hurt the global economy and fuel climate change, nature loss and pollution.
The report was published on Wednesday, ahead of the International Day of Zero Waste.
It quotes studies conducted differently by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and UN-Habitat in different countries in the country between 2010 and 2023.
For instance, Jica, in a study conducted in 2010 in Nairobi, showed that the city had a food waste estimate of 100 kg per capita per year.
Another study conducted by Takeuchi in 2019 showed that Nairobi had a food waste estimate of 99 kg per capita per year.
UN-Habitat in 2019 said the city of Nairobi had a food waste estimate of 91 kg per capita per year.
Another study in Mombasa by UN-Habitat in 2020 showed an estimated food waste of 80 kg per capita per year.
In Taita Taveta county, UN-Habitat estimated food waste in 2022 to be 55 kg per capita per year.
In 2020, it estimated food waste in Kiambu county at 99 kg per capita per year.
Last year in Homa Bay, UN-Habitat estimated food waste at 40 kg per capita per year.
The report said there were seven data points providing estimates for household food waste in Kenya.
The waste ranges between 40 kg per capita per year and 100 kg per capita per year.
All of the estimates identified were from subnational studies, categorised as having medium confidence.
Five of the data points were from UN-Habitat surveys of the Waste Wise Cities Tool, developed by UN-Habitat, a step-by-step guide to assess a city’s municipal solid waste management performance.
“Although a large number of data points are available for Kenya, there is less available evidence in rural areas. Future research should focus on providing a nationwide estimate either via a nationally representative sample or through weighting results to more accurately represent variations within the country,” the report says.
It helps track country-level progress to halve food waste by 2030.
First published in 2021, the current report builds on recent and greater datasets and provides an update on the scale of food wasted worldwide, as well as a focus on multi-stakeholder collaboration through public-private partnerships as a solution.
The report showed that there were 1.05 billion tonnes of food waste generated (including inedible parts), amounting to 132 kg per capita and almost one-fifth of all food available to consumers in 2022.
Out of the total food wasted in 2022, 60 per cent happened at the household level, with food services responsible for 28 per cent and retail 12 per cent.
Unep executive director Inger Andersen said food waste is a global tragedy.
“Millions will go hungry today as food is wasted across the world,” she said.
"Not only is this a major development issue, but the impacts of such unnecessary waste are causing substantial costs to the climate and nature. The good news is we know if countries prioritise this issue, they can significantly reverse food loss and waste, reduce climate impacts and economic losses and accelerate progress on global goals.”
Since 2021, there has been a strengthening of the data infrastructure with more studies tracking food waste.
Globally, the number of data points at the household level almost doubled.
Nevertheless, many low- and middle-income countries continue to lack adequate systems for tracking progress to meet Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 of halving food waste by 2030, particularly in retail and food services.
According to recent data, food loss and waste generates eight to 10 per cent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions – almost five times that of the aviation sector – and significant biodiversity loss by taking up the equivalent of almost a third of the world’s agricultural land.