Every year, 1.3 billion tons of food worldwide end up in the trash. That accounts for approximately one-third of all food produced globally.
What is particularly concerning is that the amount of food we waste would be enough to feed two billion people. That's more than twice the number of undernourished people in the world.
As a significant player in the food industry, the foodservice sector plays a crucial role in reducing food waste. At the same time, this industry is responsible for 40 % of the world's wasted food.
In this article, we will show you more facts and figures about food waste and how restaurants can reduce the amount of food they waste.
Food waste refers to food that is produced for human consumption but is discarded along the journey from farm to fork. Food waste occurs throughout the entire food supply chain, from cultivation and processing to retail and consumption.
Depending on the stage in which food is wasted, we can differentiate between food loss and food waste:
Food loss occurs during production, storage, processing, and distribution phases. This is caused by issues or errors in the supply chain, such as quality defects, inadequate infrastructure, or spoilage.
Food waste refers to food that is thrown away during consumption, either in retail, hospitality or at home. This occurs for various reasons, such as overstocking, improper storage of food, or when the expiration date has passed.
Depending on the region, there are differences in the food waste within the supply chain.
In developing countries, food waste often occurs more frequently in the early stages of the food supply chain, particularly during harvesting and processing. This is due to inefficient technologies, substandard storage facilities, or extreme weather conditions.
In contrast, food waste in developed countries is primarily observed at the end of the food supply chain. The reason for this is an abundance of food. Consumers have a greater variety to choose from, which leads to a more careless attitude towards food and greater waste.
| Total 54.2 million tons (2019) |
Total 11 million tons (2020) |
Total 587,000 tons (2019) * |
| Restaurant Industry 10.8 million tons (2019) |
Restaurant Industry 1.9 million tons (2020) |
Restaurant Industry 175,000 tons (2019) |
* Data from the agricultural sector are missing. It can therefore be assumed that the actual amount of wasted food is bigger.
Overall, 8–10 % of all carbon emissions are attributed to wasted food. If food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest greenhouse gas emitter after China and the United States.
The production of food requires significant amounts of resources such as water, land, and energy. When food is wasted, these natural resources are also lost.
One way to reduce the carbon footprint in the hospitality sector is by accurately tracking and evaluating the carbon emissions of recipes and ingredients. Dishes that have particularly high emissions can then be replaced with more sustainable ingredients.
When it comes to food waste, it is also interesting to observe how much food is produced in the different categories and how much of it we waste.
Data from National Geographic and the Food and Agriculture Organization provide insights into this:
| Category | Produced | Wasted |
| Fruits and vegetables | 1.400 million tons | 46 percent |
| Cereals | 1.197 million tons | 29 percent |
| Roots and tubers | 598 million tons | 46 percent |
| Dairy products | 841 million tons | 17 percent |
| Meat | 352 million tons | 21 percent |
| Oilseeds and pulses | 227 million tons | 22 percent |
| Fish and seafood | 63 million tons | 35 percent |
Almost half of all produced foods in the categories of fruits and vegetables as well as of roots and tubers are wasted along the global supply chain.
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, the hospitality industry plays an important role in reducing food waste. There are several measures that restaurateurs can take to minimize food waste in their business:
For more information on how restaurant operators can fight food waste and for additional facts and figures on the topic, take a look at out infographic.
Together, we can take a stand against food waste. With these facts and figures, we aim to raise awareness and bring the issue into focus.
In the hospitality industry, we promote responsible handling of food by creating transparency along the entire food supply chain.