The impact of food waste
Each year, one third of global food meant for human consumption is either lost or wasted worldwide. This is equivalent to 1.3 billion tons of food. For food production, natural resources such as water and land are used and Green House Gas (GHG) emissions are emitted along the supply chain. Wasting food has therefore a tremendous negative impact on our environment.1
And we at nobin want to fight food waste together with you.
Where is food wasted
Food is wasted along the different stages of the supply chain. From growing the food up to where it ends on our plates. Looking at the diagram, 39% of the food loss occurs at the beginning of the supply chain at the producer level, whereas 42% occurs at the consumer end. Of the latter, 14% is wasted in restaurants and food services such as catering2.
nobins ambitions
We at nobin set ourselves an ambitious goal: we want to reduce food waste and at the same time serve delicious food to our guests. We believe that together we can avoid food going to waste and reduce our ecological footprint while still enjoying life.
So, let’s start this journey together.
nobins impact in 2023
We saved
58.815 kg of food
In 2023
Which is equivalent to:
148340.94 m2 of land
7557782.68 l of water
119252.66 kg of CO2
Our goal for 2024
So far we saved 8%
Of our goal
Help us get to 100%!
This year our goal is
72.000 kg
Up untill February we saved
5.629 kg of food
Food waste in numbers
Worldwide 1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted. People in Europe and North America waste an average of 95-115 kg of food per person per year. In the Netherlands, 2.5 million tons of food are going to waste each year. And zooming into the catering business in the Netherlands 5 million kg of food is wasted per year3.
Impact of food waste on our planet
The carbon footprint of food waste is estimated to be 3.3 gigatons of CO2 equivalent. Therefore, if food waste was a country, it would be the third largest emitting country of GHG emissions after China and the US4.
To produce food, natural resources, such as water and land are used. If the produced food is wasted all those natural resources are also wasted. The water footprint of food waste is roughly 250km3 which is comparable with the yearly water discharge of the Volga River. To produce all this uneaten food, 1.4 billion hectares of land are used. This is equivalent to 30% of the agricultural potential worldwide.
Looking at all those aspects above, food wastage is a major driving force of climate change1.
Impact of food waste on our planet
Food waste does not only have a negative economic impact, but is even more of an environmental one. The iceberg highlights the hidden impact on nature and society related to food waste.
Why is it important to reduce food waste
Looking at all the negative impacts food waste has on our environment, it becomes clear that something needs to change. If we reduce our food waste, fewer GHG emissions are emitted. Also, less precious resources such as water and land will be unnecessarily wasted.
For a brief summary of the numbers and impact of food waste watch the video below:
Sources
- FAO (2013) Food wastage footprint: Impact on natural resources – Summary report. [https://www.fao.org/3/i3347e/i3347e.pdf].
- Instock. (n.d.). Voedselverspilling – Wie is verantwoordelijk voor welke deel? Retrieved June 2, 2023, from [https://www.instock.nl/voedselverspilling/].
- FAO (2016) Make #NotWasting A WAY OF LIFE. [https://www.fao.org/3/C0088e/C0088e.pdf].
- United Nations Environment Programme (2021). Food Waste Index Report 2021. Nairobi.