According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), around 821 million people were affected by hunger in 2017; of this total, 39.3 million people are from South America and the Caribbean (1).
At the same time, 1.3 billion tonnes of food are lost globally every year, meaning a total of 30% of the total produced, according to data also shared by the FAO (2).
A recent report between Brazil and the European Union, produced by Embrapa and the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV-EAESP) (3), revealed that the average Brazilian family wastes around 128kg of food every year, which corresponds to an average of 41.6kg per capita.
According to the same report, the foods most wasted by Brazilians are: rice (22%), bovine meat (20%), beans (16%), chicken (15%), greens (4%) and fruit (4%).
To try to explain these trends, the study stated that behind these numbers of waste are behavioural factors, such as the valuing of abundance, at each stage of consumption from purchase to food preparation. The need to buy in large quantities in order to keep the pantry stocked was confirmed by 68% of respondents, 52% of whom, moreover, find excess important. More than 77% admitted a preference for always having fresh food on the table, which leads 56% of them to cook at home twice or more times per day, contributing to the maintenance of the idea that “it’s always better to have too much than too little”, according to an article about the report on Embrapa’s website (4).
Such a contradiction, between the number of people in the world who experience hunger and the quantity of food lost and wasted, compromises both family income and the planet’s natural resources, which could also feed people suffering from hunger.
On an international scale, a third of the total production of food, or 1.3 billion tonnes, gets thrown away. This would be sufficient to feed 2 billion people, according to the FAO’s calculations. Based on these calculations, it is possible to estimate that 8.7 million tonnes of food are wasted in Brazil, or enough to feed more than 13 million people, according to an article on G1’s website, “Culture of Abundance Provokes Food Waste in Brazil” (5).
Did you know that loss and waste are different concepts?
According to the FAO, there is a difference between loss and waste:
Loss refers to a reduction in the availability of foods for human consumption along the supply chain, especially in the phases of production, post-harvest and processing. According to the FAO, loss is most marked in developing countries.
Waste occurs at the final stages of the supply chain (retail and consumption), and is more associated with developed countries (6).
#NoWaste
A campaign launched by WWF-Brasil, Embrapa and the FAO, #NoWaste (semdesperdicio.org) is an initiative which was created to heighten the Brazilian consumer conscience regarding food waste, and to generate a positive impact by changing food consumption habits.
The objectives are:
- Reduce global food waste per capita in retail and consumption by half.
- Reduce the loss of food along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses, by 2030.
Do your bit!
- Plan your purchases: only buy what’s necessary.
- Use left-overs: seek information on how to use leftover foods, using the maximum possible of all food. For example, fruits which can be transformed into compotes or using vegetables and leafy greens before they need to be thrown away.
- Store food correctly: follow instructions to preserve foods for as long as possible, always observing the use-by date and checking what can be frozen and re-heated.
- Calculate portions: Before preparing meals, check the number of people who will eat to avoid waste.
- Handle food with care: It’s very common for people to touch foods, especially fruit and vegetables, when choosing them. Often, lack of care means that the food is put back on the shelf damaged, and generally is then not consumed. It is therefore important to handle food carefully.
At the Dojo project – jiu-jitsu classes for children and teenagers at Compassiva – the food we offer after practice are donated weekly by our partner Hortifruti Asano (www.hasano.com.br). This is how we guarantee the portions necessary, avoiding leftovers as well as contributing to educating the children on positive habits.
Find out more about our project here and if you would like to contribute access the link doe.compassiva.org.br and make your donation.
NOTES
(1) Statistics shared by the FAO in their September 2018 report: http://www.fao.org/3/I9553ES/i9553es.pdf.
(2) Data cited on the Brazilian Government website – “Fight against food waste a challenge to be faced by Brazil and the world in years to come”: http://www.brasil.gov.br/noticias/cidadania-e-inclusao/2018/08/combate-ao-desperdicio-de-alimentos-e-desafio-do-brasil-e-do-mundo-nos-proximos-anos
(3) Report available here: http://www.sectordialogues.org/documentos/noticias/adjuntos/a39a4c_Relatorio_SemDesperdicio_Baixa.pdf
(4) Text taken from the Embrapa website – “Report reveals that the Brazilian family wastes 128 kilos of food every year”: https://www.embrapa.br/busca-de-noticias/-/noticia/37863018/pesquisa-revela-que-familia-brasileira-desperdica-128-quilos-de-comida-por-ano
(5) Text taken from the G1 website – “Culture of Abundance Provokes Food Waste in Brazil”: https://g1.globo.com/economia/noticia/2019/02/10/cultura-da-fartura-impulsiona-desperdicio-de-alimentos-no-brasil.ghtml
(6) Text taken from the Brazilian government’s website: “Fight against food waste a challenge to be faced by Brazil and the world in years to come”: http://www.brasil.gov.br/noticias/cidadania-e-inclusao/2018/08/combate-ao-desperdicio-de-alimentos-e-desafio-do-brasil-e-do-mundo-nos-proximos-anos
