153 million tons of food are thrown away in the European Union every year

By: Trademagazin Date: 2022. 09. 20. 11:37

About 153 million tons of food are thrown away in the European Union every year, almost 15 million tons more than what is imported, the British daily Guardian wrote on Tuesday, referring to the report of the Feedback EU climate research NGO.

The goal is to halve the amount of food waste by 2030

According to the study, the amount of wheat wasted in the EU alone is roughly half of Ukraine’s wheat exports, and a quarter of the EU’s other grain exports.

According to Frank Mechielsen, the director of the organization that prepared the study, it is scandalous that during a crisis, more food is thrown away in the EU than is imported. He added that the EU institutions would have the opportunity right now to set legally binding goals to reduce food waste by half by 2030, which would contribute to the management of climate change and improve food safety.

According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), food prices were 8 percent higher last month than a year ago, partly because of the war in Ukraine. Cereal market analyst Abdolreza Abbassian, a former chief economist at the FAO, believes the era of cheap food is over and prices are likely to remain high after the end of the Russo-Ukraine war.

MTI