International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (IDAFLW) - 29 September

La cinquième édition de la Journée internationale de sensibilisation aux pertes et gaspillages de nourriture sera l’occasion de souligner à quel point il est crucial d’obtenir des financements pour intensifier l’action visant à réduire les pertes et le gaspillage alimentaires, à contribuer à la réalisation des objectifs climatiques et à faire progresser l’exécution du Programme de développement durable à l’horizon 2030.

Le monde a beau produire suffisamment de nourriture pour alimenter l’ensemble de la population, des millions de personnes souffrent de la faim et de la malnutrition. Les pertes et gaspillages de nourriture aggravent ce problème en réduisant la quantité d’aliments disponibles à la consommation, ce qui contribue à l’insécurité alimentaire. Nombre des aliments les plus nutritifs, comme les fruits et légumes frais, les produits de la pêche et autres produits d’origine animale, sont très périssables et sont en grande partie perdus.

Les pertes et le gaspillage alimentaires entraînent de lourdes pertes économiques, non seulement pour les producteurs, mais aussi pour les consommateurs et les pays, sans compter les conséquences qu’ils ont sur les moyens d’existence et la stabilité économique. En outre, la décomposition des déchets alimentaires dans les décharges est responsable de 8 à 10 pour cent des émissions des systèmes agroalimentaires et donc participe au changement climatique et nuit à la durabilité environnementale.

Food loss and waste in numbers

• An estimated 13% of food produced is lost globally after harvest and prior to reaching retail shelves based on the most recent estimates ( FAO, 2019).

• Recently updated estimates showed that a frightening 19% of food available to consumers – the equivalent of 1.05 billion tonnes – is wasted either by being discarded at retail, in food service settings, or thrown away by households. That’s almost one fifth of all food that reaches the end of the supply chain ( UNEP, 2024).

• Collectively, we waste a lot of food at home. In fact, a staggering 60% of food waste is wasted at the household level, 28% from food service, and 12% from retail ( UNEP, 2024).

• While all this food is being lost and wasted, an estimated one in thirteen people worldwide experienced hunger in 2025, representing between 608 and 696 million people (7.4-8.5 percent of the global population). Moreover, an estimated 2.1 billion people - 25.8 percent of the global population - experienced moderate or severe food insecurity ( FAO, 2026).

• According to the latest estimates, approximately 2.69 billion (32.7 percent) people in the world cannot afford a healthy diet ( FAO, 2026). Among the various food groups, fruits and vegetables - a key component of a nutritious diet - experience the highest percentage of losses, further aggravating this global challenge ( FAO, 2019).

• Food loss and waste also contributes to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions (FAOSTAT, 2025), impacting climate change and environmental sustainability. Reducing food loss and waste is therefore a climate solution, which countries and communities can employ to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect natural resources ( IPCC, 2019).

• Food that is never eaten uses up 28% of the world’s agricultural land area ( FAO, 2013).

• The global land occupation footprint of food loss and waste, which is the total hectares used to grow food that ends up not being consumed, is about 1.4 billion hectares ( FAO, 2013), which is larger than Canada or China.

• Food loss is also a market failure, representing an estimated annual loss of US$400 billion in food value ( FAO, 2019).

• Food waste results in the throwing away of more than US$1 trillion worth of food every year ( UNEP, 2024).

How can you mark the day?

• Join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #FLWday hashtag.
• Use our visual identity free materials - available in multiple languages.
• Check out the IDAFLW social media kit for more resources.
• Join or organize events to raise awareness on food loss and waste.
• Register your event on the IDAFLW 2026 world map.
• Don’t forget to tell us about it at [email protected].

Previous observances of the IDAFLW

Relevant links

Liens et ressources utiles