EU wastes more food than it imports, says new report

More on food waste and EU food security:

• The amount of wheat wasted in the EU is equivalent to approximately half of Ukraine’s wheat exports and a quarter of the EU’s other grain exports [9].

More on the report ‘No Time to Waste’:

• In 2015, EU countries committed to meet Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, to halve food waste by 2030.
• The report estimates that 89.8 million tonnes of food waste occur at primary production, three times as much as is wasted in EU households (32.5mt), meaning that total EU food waste may be nearly double previous estimates [10]. Most of this food waste is likely to fall outside of the scope of current EU food waste measurement and national reporting, which excludes food left unharvested or used on farms – locking it out of targeted reduction. The statement calls on the Commission to expand the scope of food waste measurement and include “edible food left unharvested or used on farm at primary production”.
• Sources for food waste:
  • Primary production: 89.8 million tonnes. [11]
  • Processing: 15.4 million tonnes. [12]
  • Wholesale and retail: 5.3 million tonnes.
  • Food service: 10.5 million tonnes.
  • Households: 32.5 million tonnes. [13]

More on the Waste Framework Directive:

• The Commission’s inception impact assessment on EU food waste targets examines a range of options, including a 50% reduction in food waste at all stages of the supply chain by 2030, but also significantly less ambitious options – for instance, a 15% reduction by 2030 [14]. It also considers setting a food waste target covering retail and household food waste only [15].
• In 2017, the European Parliament called on the Commission to introduce a legally binding target for member states to halve food waste by 2030, covering “the whole supply chain, including in primary production, transportation, and storage” [16].
• In 2017, over 125,000 people signed Change.org and Global Citizen petitions calling for the EU to introduce legally binding targets to reduce EU food waste by 50% from farm to fork by 2030 [17].
• The 2018 revision of the Waste Framework Directive introduced a legal obligation for EU member states to measure their food waste from 2020 onwards, and report this to the Commission [18]. It also obliged the Commission to examine this food waste data, with a view to “considering the feasibility of establishing a Union-wide food waste reduction target to be met by 2030 on the basis of the data reported by Member States” by 2023. Member states submitted this food waste data to the Commission and the 2020 data is expected to be published in late 2022. However, this measurement excludes food left unharvested or used on farms, in line with the delegated decision on food waste measurement and reporting [19].
• In 2012, the European Parliament called on the Commission to “to take practical measures towards halving food waste by 2025” including “specific food waste prevention targets for Member States” [20].

In 2016, the EU Court of Auditors heavily criticised the Commission for insufficient progress on food waste goals.