The phenomenon of food waste represents one of the greatest contradictions of our time. Millions of people suffer from hunger and food insecurity, yet every year a huge amount of food is wasted. It is a global tragedy with devastating consequences for the environment, economy, and society.
The past year and a new examination of global data have revealed an alarming situation, highlighting a clear worsening, despite efforts to combat it.
The Global Food Waste Index Report by the United Nations, published in 2023, had already sounded the alarm: "about one-third of global food production ends up in the trash." This amounts to about 1.3 billion tons of food wasted every year. A figure that not only fuels economic inefficiency but also affects the world we live in, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and worsening climate change, a topic that is widely discussed today. However, despite the scale of the problem, there is an even harsher reality: hunger remains a serious emergency.
The causes are many and go far beyond individual behavior. What we witness daily is the result of a complex and dysfunctional system that involves everyone—from the production chain to distribution, to us consumers.
Spain is one of the European countries with the highest food waste rates. According to a report by the Sustainability Observatory, about 1.3 million tons of food are wasted every year, equivalent to almost 30 kilograms per person. Looking closer, we can see that households are the main cause of waste, accounting for about 42% of the total, followed by restaurants and food distribution chains.
But what are the real causes of this problem? Certainly, excessive production. A food industry driven by profit tends to produce and distribute amounts of food far exceeding actual demand, creating a surplus that ends up being discarded once it is no longer marketable. This is linked to poor management of product expiration dates, which causes entire batches of food to be thrown away even when they are still perfectly edible.
Even more insidious is the aesthetic standard imposed on food. Fruits and vegetables with imperfections or non-"standard" sizes are regularly discarded, even though they are perfectly fit for human consumption. Then there are bad eating habits at home, such as lack of meal planning, which could at least partially reduce waste.
Looking at these numbers and data, the question naturally arises: why, in a world where hunger and malnutrition affect millions of people, is so much of what we produce wasted? It becomes a moral issue, as well as an economic and environmental failure.
Food waste is a luxury we can no longer afford, which is why more and more people around the world are embracing the "zero waste" concept. This has become a true movement aimed at fighting this phenomenon. People are committed to reducing their environmental impact through practices such as conscious consumption and the promotion of the circular economy.
In the food sector, the first real suggestion is to eliminate waste at the source by paying attention while shopping:
- Buying carefully and in moderation, checking expiration dates, and not purchasing more than necessary, to avoid later having to throw away expired or unused food.
- If there are leftovers on the plate, rather than throwing them away, they can be eaten at the next meal or used to cook something new.
Recently, the so-called "anti-waste cooking" has become popular again. Many new online channels have emerged, born out of the need to create dishes using leftovers from previous meals or utilizing parts of food that are usually discarded, such as vegetable stems, peels, or leaves.
The paradoxical gap between the need for food and its waste raises important questions, and the answer always seems to be the same: a small individual action can have an enormous impact on the community.
So, let’s embrace creativity, reduce waste, and enjoy our next meal responsibly!