FOOD LOSS, HUNGER AND CLIMATE CHANGE
THE DEVASTATING PARADOX
FOOD LOSS
Farmers struggle to sell all their produce due to inefficiencies
In sub-Saharan Africa, nearly 50% of all fruit and vegetables never make it to market for consumption.
Food is lost due to lack of storage, transport, IT, market information etc
HUNGER
Vulnerable communities face hunger and malnutrition
In Kenya, 32% of the population faces food insecurity and poor nutrition. 26% of the children are stunted.
Up to 75% of salaries is spent on food in low-income households.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Globally, food waste and loss accounts for 8% of greenhouse gases. Food left to rot turns into methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than CO2.
THIS PARADOX LEADS TO UNACCEPTABLY HIGH COSTS - INDIRECT AND DIRECT -
ON INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES, COUNTRIES AND PLANET
Stunting means children have impaired cognitive and physical development due to malnutrition. Malnutrition leads to increased health risks, healthcare costs and even death.
For the country, it means part of the population has difficulty learning at school or being productive at work. And overall this leads to economic stagnation.
Food loss and waste has a huge impact on global warming. Nearly 8% of greenhouse gases come from food waste. Op top of that, all the resources used to produce the food - such as land, water, inputs and capital - are also wasted.
Reducing our food loss and waste is one of the most effective and cheapest ways to combat climate change.
Globally, one third of food is lost or wasted every year. This is enough to feed more than twice the number of hungry people worldwide.