A new analysis from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has found that global food waste will increase by more than 30% by 2030 if no action is taken. The figures themselves are even more alarming: a total of 2.1 billion tons of food is projected to be thrown away or, in the case of perishables, lost; this amount equates to a colossal 66 tons per second.
Currently, about 1.6 billion tons of food goes to waste each year, which represents $1.2 trillion worth of food and accounts for 8% of yearly global green house emissions. And, while food loss awareness is on the rise, global attempts to deal with the issue are not. According to Shalini Unnikrishnan, a partner and managing director of BCG, attempts to deal with food waste are “fragmented, limited and ultimately insufficient given the magnitude of the problem,” In fact, the problem will only get words as countries continue to industrialize. “As population grows rapidly in certain industrializing parts of the world, like in Asia, consumption is growing very rapidly,” Unnikrishnan observed.
One possible solution, according to BCG, is the creation of an ecolabel, such as those found on fair trade products. This ecolabel would let consumers know which companies have committed to reducing waste and make it easier to buy responsibly. However, “The scale of the problem is one that will continue to grow while we’re developing our solutions,” Unnikrishnan said. The UN hopes to halve food waste by 2030, but if governments, companies and consumers don’t make significant changes in the way they approach food – and work together to do it – there is little chance of this happening. According to Unnikrishnan, “It’s not an easy problem, no single country, no single entity can solve the entire problem on their own.”
Source: Eco Watch
