Kuwaiti families waste 397.7 thousand tons of food

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Per capita waste of food in Kuwait is 95 kilos

KUWAIT CITY, March 17: An individual in Kuwait wastes 95 kilograms of food on an average per year, and Kuwaiti families waste 397,700 tons of food every year, as revealed by the Food Waste Index Report for 2021 issued by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the partner organization “WRAP”, reports Al-Anba daily. The report explained that the food wasted annually per capita in Kuwait is equal to that of the Emirates, Oman and Qatar, whereas in Saudi Arabia, it is 105 kilograms, and in Bahrain 132 kilograms, making the latter come on top within the Arab world and fourth in the world after Nigeria, which took top place in wastage of food with an average of 189 kilograms annually.

Rwanda wastes 164 kilograms per capita annually, and Greece 142 kilograms. Globally, an estimated 931 million tons of food, or 17 percent of the total food available to consumers in 2019, ended up in garbage bins of households, retailers, restaurants, and other food services. About 23 million fully loaded trucks weighing 40 tons will be fully filled with this quantity, and this is enough to circle the earth seven times. Almost every country measured food waste, which turned out to be large regardless of the country’s income level.

Most of this waste comes from households, constituting 11 percent of the total food available for consumption. Food service establishments and retail outlets waste five percent and two percent respectively. The global average per person wastage of food is 121 kilograms, out of which 74 kilograms is wasted at the household level. The report also includes regional and national estimates of per capita income. It went on to explain that food wastage has major environmental, social and economic impacts. For example, at a time when climate action is still lagging behind, eight-ten percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are linked to the food that is not consumed.

A total of 690 million people were affected by hunger in 2019, but this number is expected to rise sharply with the COVID-19 pandemic, while three billion people are unable to afford a healthy diet. Therefore, consumers need help to reduce food wastage within households. The report suggested that countries can raise climate action by including food wastage in the NDC’s contribution to the Paris Agreement, while enhancing food security and reducing costs for households.

This would also make prevention of food wastage an essential area for inclusion in COVID- 19 recovery strategies. It stated that an increasing number of countries have measured food wastage in recent years, and it was discovered that 14 countries already had household food wastage data compiled in a manner consistent with the Food Waste Index. Another 38 countries have household food waste data. Small changes in methodology, geographical coverage or sample size allow them to generate an estimate aligned with SDG objectives, whereas a total of 54 countries have data for at least one of the three sectors covered by the report.

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