Why reducing food waste is good for the planet and your wallet

The European Commission’s demands on member states between now and 2030

In 2022 alone, more than a ton of food was wasted in the European Union (Eurostat data). An amount that, divided among the EU’s approximately 450 million inhabitants, translated into 132 kilograms per inhabitant, one kilogram more than the previous year. And it is households (54 percent) that are the largest source of food waste, followed by the processing industry (19 percent), catering (11 percent), retail and distribution (8 percent) and primary production (8 percent).

AndItaly is not doing well at all in terms of foodwaste. In each week of 2024, 683 grams of food were lost, compared to Germany’s 513, France’s 460 and the United Kingdom’s 632: this is the picture that emerged from the report “Waste Watcher 2024 – Food waste in the G7 countries: from analysis to action,” presented in Rome on Sept. 16 and conducted by the Waste Watcher International Observatory of the University of Bologna, with Ipsos processing.

The most wasted foods are fresh fruit (27.1 grams), vegetables (24.6 grams), fresh bread (24.1 grams), salads (22.3 grams), and onions/garlic/tubers (20 grams). The average Italian consumer, this is the target of the research, even managed to do worse than in 2023, when waste stopped at 469.4 grams.

The black jersey goes to the South, where 747 grams of foodstuffs went missing each week, followed by the Center (744 grams) and the North (534 grams).

But why is it wasted? According to 42% of respondents, the reason lies in the fact that fruits and vegetables are stored in cold storage and taking them home they go bad; 37% forget about it and therefore the products expire or deteriorate; another recurring reason (37%) is that the food purchased is already old. And again, there are those who are afraid of not having enough food at home and buy in excess or are enticed by too many offers (32%).

Downstream of this data, then, affecting food waste made in Italy is the poor quality of the food on the shelves.

And the European Commission is trying to run for cover. On the occasion of World Food Waste and Loss Awareness Day on Sept. 29, the Commission proposed that member countries commit by 2030 to a 10 percent reduction in waste at the food production stage and a 30 percent reduction at the consumption stage in restaurants, canteens and the homes of Europeans.

In fact, food lost across Europe accounts for 16 percent of the amount of greenhouse gases emitted for EU agrifood production and corresponds to 254 million tons of carbon dioxide. 342 billion cubic meters of water are used to generate food that will not feed anyone. An enormity, even more so when one considers that 37 million Europeans cannot afford a red meat, chicken, fish or vegetable meal every other day (Eurostat 2023). If the Commission’s proposal were put into practice, a European family of four would save 400 euros a year.