United Nations(UN)’s International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (IDAFLW) is annually observed across the globe on September 29th to focus on the opportunities to reduce food loss and waste and restore a resilient ready food system.
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO) and UN Environment Programme(UNEP) are the leading agencies in facilitating the observance of the International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste Reduction.
29th September 2021 marks the observance of the 2nd IDAFLW.
Events 2021:
FAO and UNEP have organised a global event “Stopping food loss and waste. For the people. For the planet” as a part of the observance of IDAFLW 2021.
Background:
i.The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/74/209 on 19th December 2019 and proclaimed the 29th September of every year as the International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste.
ii.The first ever IDAFLW was observed on 29th September 2020.
Food Loss across the globe:
i.Around 14% of food produced across the globe, valued at 400 billion USD, is lost between harvest and retail, and an estimated 17% of total global food production is wasted(11% in households, 5% in foodservice and 2% in retail).
ii.FWL accounts for 38% of the total energy usage in the global food system.
Importance of reducing FLW:
i.The FLW contributes to climate change since the disposal of food waste in landfills results in the emission of greenhouse gases.
ii.Food waste also impacts food security and food availability and contributes to the increase in food costs.
SDG & FLW:
The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.3: “By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.” highlight the need to accelerate collective action to reduce food loss and waste.
UNEP’s Food Waste Index Report 2021:
i.According to the UNEP’s Food Waste Index Report 2021, around 931 million tonnes of food waste was generated in 2019, which is around 17% of the total food produced globally.
ii.India has generated around 68, 760, 163 tonnes of food waste each year, and the per capita food wastage of India is 50Kg.
About Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO):
Director-General– QU Dongyu
Headquarters– Rome, Italy
