Food waste and food loss have become a focus of global public attention. Today, experts and policymakers broadly agree that food loss causes significant economic, environmental and social damage. How big is the problem? (1) It results in over US$1 trillion worth of food being thrown away every year (2) The equivalent of 1 billion meals of edible food is being wasted every single day in households worldwide. (UNEP, Food Waste Index Report, 2024).
To raise awareness about the subject, the UN has declared the 29th of September as the “International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste”. In addition, the UN’s 12.3 target of the Sustainable Development Goals “calls for cutting in half per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer level, and reducing food losses along production and supply chains (including post-harvest losses) by 2030”.
This lesson aims to increase student understanding of food loss and waste issues and explore practical ideas to avoid them.
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