Food Waste Index Report-2024

The world wasted an estimated 19 percent of the food produced globally in 2022, or about 1.05 billion metric tons, according to a new United Nations report.

The 2021 report estimated that 17 percent of the food produced globally in 2019, or 931 million metric tons (1.03 billion tons), was wasted.

They found that each person wastes about 79 kilograms (about 174 pounds) of food annually, equal to at least 1 billion meals wasted worldwide daily.

Most of the waste — 60 percent — came in households. About 28 percent came from food service, or restaurants, with about 12 percent from retailers.

The report comes at a time when 783 million people around the world face chronic hunger and many places facing deepening food crises.