Food waste in Poland and around the world. How to reduce it?

You know the one? That one uneaten yoghurt that hid a week ago in the corner of the fridge. Or the wrinkled potatoes that have had time to grow roots and are now waving at you from the cupboard.

Every day, almost every day, something gets overdue, spoils or loses its freshness. And almost every day these things end up in the bin. Seemingly nothing. And yet, looking globally, it turns out that food waste is a huge problem. So huge that it has to be counted in millions of tonnes.

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World Food Day

Did you know that 16 October is World Food Day? It is an important holiday that was established in 1979 by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, known as the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization). 

Celebrated around the globe, it is designed to draw public attention to food issues around the world. It is not only an opportunity to reflect, but also to take action. It is a good time to reflect on global food issues and what we can do to help solve them.

How much food do we waste?

A tonne is a lot. And a million tonnes becomes a completely abstract concept. It is difficult to even imagine. Unfortunately, it is in millions of tonnes that the scale of wasted food is measured. Both globally and in Poland.

Food waste in the world

According to an FAO report, around 1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted annually worldwideand.

If we divide this by 365 days, we find that more than 3.5 million tonnes of food ends up in landfills every day. If that wasn't enough, the FAO estimates that food waste is a basket reaching billion dollars a yearand.

To illustrate this better: if the rumour that Elon Musk earns $430 million a day is true - his account will be credited with just under $157 billion a year. A trillion is still a very long way away.

Food waste in Poland

According to Food Banks in Poland, we waste around 4.8 million tonnes of food every year. It is estimated that as much as 60% of this is wasted in our homes. This means that each of us throws away about 75 kg of food every yearand.

Interestingly, according to the CSO, the statistical Smith produces 360 kg of waste annually . This means that discarded food accounts for more than 20% of the rubbish we produce. That is, one in five pieces of rubbish we throw away is food.

Where and how is food wasted?

Contrary to what you might think, food waste is not just about that uneaten yoghurt that's gone out of date or the tomato that's mouldy in our vegetable garden. Food waste starts much earlier than in the household waste bin.

Food has its life cycle, in which 6 stages are distinguished:

• production -i.e. agricultural crops, cattle breeding,
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• storage - usually after harvesting,
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• processing - some foods, such as vegetables and fruit that we buy unaltered, do not require this stage,
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• distribution - this is the stage where food products reach the shops,
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• consumption - when we buy the food and have it in our homes,
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• expiry date -i.e. that unfortunate, out-of-date yoghurt.

Losses are recorded at each of these stages, and they start as early as in the crop fields. Improper harvesting methods or pest control cause the first damage. This is followed by inadequate storage conditions for harvested food and huge losses during processingand.

According to the FAO, around 75% of food is lost during these first 3 stages worldwide. In turn, around 35% of food is wasted in shops and households. Interestingly, most of this thrown away food is fit for consumptionand.

The picture is slightly different in Poland. According to statistics from Food Banks in our country, around 30% of food is wasted at the production and processing stage. Distribution and trade are responsible for another 10% of food lost, while as much as 6 out of 10 wasted food products are things thrown away in our homesand.

Food waste and environmental pollution

In November 2022, the world's population reached 8 billion. It is estimated that by 2030 there will be 600 million more of us. An ever-increasing population also means more food produced, and therefore even more rubbish.

When you waste food, you waste not only the resources that went into its production, such as water and energy. It also leads to unnecessary waste generation. Discarded food ends up in landfills, where it decomposes and produces methane - a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate changeand.

According to FAO data, if food waste were a country, it would be the world's third largest emitter of CO2 -right after China and the USand. Worse still, all indications are that this problem will only get worse.

Food production also contributes to environmental pollution. The agricultural industry, especially animal husbandry, generates significant amounts of greenhouse gases. If this food is not consumed, all this energy, resources and emissions go to waste.

Wasting food is not an option.

Food waste and the problem of hunger

While millions of tonnes of food languish in landfills, the world still faces the problem of hunger in developing countries. The difficulty here is not a lack of food at all. According to the World Food Programe (WFP), enough food is produced in the world to feed every personand.

In addition to social and geopolitical reasons, it is believed that food wastage is one of the main reasons for world hunger. And while in developed areas food throwing is mainly focused on the fact that we are unable to overeat it, in developing countries the biggest losses are recorded at the growing, harvesting and storage stages.

Very often, farmers do not have the manpower to harvest their entire crop or do not have the conditions and technology to store it properly. As a result, food rots, moulds or is attacked by pestsand.

The WFP claims that the food produced that was wasted would be enough to feed as many as 2 billion people. And that's more than twice as many undernourished people worldwideand. Of course, just because you stop buying to stock up and cut down on throwing away uneaten produce, doesn't mean that somewhere on the other side of the world the hunger problem will suddenly start to disappear.

To improve the situation in developing countries you need investment in new technology and in education, things that are beyond your control. However, this does not mean that food is not worth caring about. It is worth it - if only for the sake of the environment, the waste problem and water management.

How to reduce food waste - a mini-guide

What can you do on a daily basis to throw away less food? Here 10 simple tips that you can implement right away (or from your next shopping trip):

1. Don't go shopping hungry. A 2015 study suggests that when we are hungry, we are likely to shop more than we needand. Conversely, according to a 2022 study, when we are burping in our stomachs we tend to buy lower quality products . I wonder how many of these end up in the bin later.
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2. Freeze what you can. I can't count the number of times I've found myself cooking like I was cooking for an army regiment. When you can't get through a whole pot of soup or all your fried chops, don't wait until they start to smell suspicious. Just freeze them. You can freeze soups, sauces, stews, delicatessen dishes (dumplings, potato dumplings, stuffed cabbage rolls) and most fruit and vegetables. An added plus: you have lunches ready to go for longer.
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3. Don't buy to stock up. The coronavirus pandemic period has emphatically shown that it is not worth stocking up, and we are unlikely to run out of food in the shops. Remember too that buying more because it's on promotion usually contributes to wasting money rather than saving money. Even if you buy cheaper but don't use the products and then have to throw them away - you're actually throwing your money away too.
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4. Plan your meals. This is probably the hardest of the tips, as it requires good preparation. However, if you determine your menu for the next week, you can easily prepare the necessary shopping list. All you have to do is stick to it when you go to the shop. That way you can be sure that nothing you buy goes to waste.
5. Keep your kitchen tidy. It may sound a bit surprising, but think about it, don't you sometimes find an old jar of mayonnaise in the corner of the fridge? Or an open jam that has had time to develop new life? That's right. And then you find that, after all, you recently bought new mayonnaise (or jam) because you thought it had long since run out. The same goes for products with a long shelf life, such as instant - buried in cupboards.
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6. Make preserves. This is also a great way to make sure you don't waste fruit and vegetables - especially seasonal ones. Overripe (but not rotten or mouldy!) fruit is great for preserves. A present from grandpa in the form of 20 kg of cucumbers from the allotment can also be sealed in jars.
7. Share. All right, you've already got the preserves, but you know you won't be able to eat them even through the winter. Well, donate a jar each to your friends or neighbours. Baked cake too much for you? Bring a piece to your work colleagues - they will love it. And who knows, maybe one day they'll return the favour.
8. Order less at restaurants. When you eat out, you can also cut down on food that goes to waste. If you're one of those people who (like me) eat with their eyes and feel like trying literally everything on the menu... remind yourself that your stomach has limits. Order a smaller portion and if you don't eat enough, only order more. You will spend less and waste less.
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9. Store food properly. Did you know that plants that give off a lot of ethylene can accelerate the spoilage of other products? That's why it's a good idea to keep bananas, avocados, pears, apples, peaches, nectarines and tomatoes separate from other fruit and vegetables.
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10. Grow food rescue. Download apps (such as Too Good To Go or Foodsi) and see which local trader has a surprise parcel to sell. The parcels include food that has not been used in restaurants, cafes, bakeries and shops. Thanks to the apps, you can locate them and buy them much cheaper - even for ⅓ the price.

That's it from me, but nutrition experts, have some more advice for you:

Clinical nutritionist Kuba Pągowski:

"In my opinion, the best and most sensible option to reduce food waste is shopping lists. If we know what and how much we need to buy in order, for example, to have something to eat for the whole week then this will reduce the throwing of food in the bin. When walking through a shop with a list of what we need in our hand/phone, it is harder to fall into a shopping frenzy and acquire products that we will only use once and throw the rest away. Plus it saves us time and money."

Dietitian and personal trainer Marta Kaczorek:

"Buy products that have been tried and tested in your home. If your children don't like natural yoghurt, for example, and you're the only one who eats it, buy as much as you'll eat. And remember that well-stored and unopened dairy products can be eaten even a few days after the best-before date.

Purchase as much as you can.

If you want to buy more, only buy pre-packaged products with a long use-by date to stock up. Buy bread every day or every other day, and uneaten bread can be dried and made into breadcrumbs. Buy vegetables and fruit every two to three days, and when you know you won't eat something - freeze it.

Always store food according to the directions, this will prolong its shelf life; bananas will last longer if they stand alone in a bowl - they don't like apples; avocados will live longer if you leave a seed in the uneaten part; store salads and fresh herbs in damp conditions."

Shelve and store in damp conditions.

Clinical nutritionist Julia Skrajda: