FAO estimates that 30-40% of total food production may be lost before reaching the market.

Important facts

every year, 1/3 of the world's food production is lost or wasted. This means that some 1.3 billion tons of food worth more than $1 trillion have been lost or wasted at some point between sowing in the fields and feeding the world's 7 billion population. These figures are intolerable in today's world, as FAO notes that about 0.87 billion people worldwide do not have enough to eat. In fact, a study commissioned by FAO that came up with these figures shows that simply saving the 1/4 of the amount of food lost or wasted could end global hunger. The release of the results has focused global attention on the need to improve the efficiency of food production systems. At the same time, FAO launched Save Food, a global initiative involving a range of public and private sector partners focused on reducing loss and waste.

When the food packaging industry made food loss and waste the theme of its 2011 International Trade Fair, the industry approached FAO for an authoritative study to highlight the importance of the issue. The aim is to quantify loss or waste across the food chain and identify ways in which the packaging industry can help reduce it. While the dire impact of loss and waste on food security has indeed been recognized, the study will be the first to aggregate global figures.

The results show that the huge loss and waste of food "from farm to fork" is actually enough to feed more than four times the world's 0.87 billion hungry people. In response, the trade fair's host, Exhibition Group Düsseldorf, added a global conference on the subject during the 2011 International Exhibition of Packaging, Packaging and Confectionery Machinery.

The Congress, held on 16-17 May 2011, invited representatives of the public and private sectors to discuss how to work together to reduce this intolerable waste. The conference, entitled "Save Food", enabled participants to form a wide range of partnerships and global initiatives aimed at reducing loss and waste.

Today, the partnership is the SAVE FOOD initiative, led by FAO, with more than 150 public and private sector partners, the World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the United Nations food sister agencies, and the United Nations Environment Programme. All parties are committed to contributing their expertise and technical knowledge to find new ways to improve the efficiency of the world's food system.

Food loss is different from food. Waste 
under the guidance of FAO, SAVE FOOD has established field programmes that focus on supply chains in various developing countries and advise governments on how to improve efficiency.

In developing countries, food losses occur in the production chain and cost smallholder farmers the most. FAO estimates that 30-40 per cent of total production may have been lost before reaching the market due to a range of reasons, from the improper use of inputs to the lack of proper post-production storage, processing or transportation facilities. The loss rate of root crops, fruits and vegetables can be as high as 40-50%, the loss rate of grains and fish can reach 30%, and the loss rate of oilseeds can reach 20%.

In industrialized countries, waste is on food that has already reached the market. Part of the problem is that affluent consumers have developed the habit of "throwing away food" and buying more food than their families are likely to consume. Waste also includes overproduction and the taking of safe food from market or supermarket shelves due to strict regulations. Overproduction often leads to oversupply as a result of crop subsidies. Taken together, consumers in Europe and North America waste almost 10kg per capita per month, which is more than even consumers in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia waste in a year.

Loss and waste affect the economy and environment
on a larger scale, whether it's lost production or retail waste, such waste reduces the food supply on the market. This, in turn, could push up prices, particularly in developing countries, where consumers cannot afford them. In addition, while food is wasted, energy and resources such as land and water used to grow or produce food are also wasted.

The world's population is expected to increase from 7 billion today to 9 billion by 2050, and food production will need to double to meet the needs of this population. Against this backdrop, it is sad to see such a huge food loss "from farm to fork. In short, this situation is unbearable in the world, and the "Save Food" partners have realized this fact and have assumed the responsibility of finding ways to increase production efficiency and thus improve the level of world food security.

http://www.fao.org/in-action/seeking-end-to-loss-and-waste-of-food-along-production-chai

man of Feeding