rationalskepticism.org

Some 88 million tonnes of food are wasted in the European Union every year, the equivalent of 173 kilos per person. The Dutch waste the most food, while households all over Europe represent over 50% of food waste. One of the main causes has to do with the fact that people are clueless about labels.

Estimates show that every year European waste about 88 million tonnes of food, with the Dutch (541 kg per person), Belgians (435 kg per person), and Cypriots (327 kg per person) being the most wasteful.

At the other end, people from Malta, Romania, and Slovenia waste under 77 kg per person a year, according to Eurostat.

The food waste problem has both an ethical and environmental aspect. According to Eurostat, 55 million people – about 9.6% of the EU’s population – were unable to afford a quality meal every second day in 2014. At the same time, food waste also contributes to climate change.

whereas, according to recent studies, for every kilogram of food produced, 4,5 kg of CO2 are released into the atmosphere; whereas in Europe the approximately 89 Mt of wasted food generate 170 Mt CO2 eq./yr, broken down as follows: food industry 59 Mt CO2 eq./yr, domestic consumption 78 Mt CO2 eq./yr, other 33 Mt CO2 eq./yr; whereas the production of the 30 % of food which ends up not being consumed is responsible for an additional 50 % of water resource irrigation use, while the production of one kilogram of beef requires 5-10 tonnes of water;