Estimating the nutritional loss and the feeding potential derived from food losses worldwide

Abstract

Abstract This study, focused on the concept of nutritional loss and waste (NLW), aimed to estimate the nutritional losses derived from food losses worldwide, estimating the number of people that could be fed with the amount of food loss worldwide, and confronting such estimate with the prevalence of undernourished people worldwide. We analyzed data on the estimated amount of food losses, considering different food types in nations worldwide, published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The investigation estimated the amounts of kilocalories and proteins for each food item available in the FAO’s Food Balance Sheets. Data regarding energy and protein losses were converted into the feeding potential (FP) metric that evaluates the number of adult individuals that could be fed with the nutritional losses. The study uses the balance of feeding potential (BFP) obtained through the FP minus the prevalence of undernourished population. The results show that the total production of the main food groups in the world has drastically increased in the last decades, and the rate of loss for such food groups remains constant or slightly growing. Moreover, the results suggest that the amount of food losses registered by the FAO in 2017 would be enough to feed about 940 million adult individuals, being enough to feed the amount of undernourished people in the world. Furthermore, some countries present high levels of BFP, such as the United States, Brazil and China. In contrast, some other countries, such as India and Pakistan, show lower levels of BFP. Policymakers and private sector agents involved in global food systems should be focusing their attention on increasing supply chain efficiency and reducing food loss and waste (FLW) and NLW on a global scale. This study encourages the definition of an international treaty committing nations to significantly reduce their FLW and NLW levels.