By the numbers: Food waste

TORONTO – A new study on food waste finds that Canadians are wasting billions of tons of food each year, and the majority is from households.

Globalnews.ca takes a look at the numbers related to food production and waste in Canada, the U.S. and worldwide, based on data in the Value Chain Management Centre’s “Cut Waste, Grow Profit” report released on Wednesday. The report draws on information gathered by Statistics Canada and other researchers.

1.3 billion tons: Amount of food produced for human consumption that is wasted along the food chain each year

2.3 billion tons: World grain production for 2011-2012

1.2 billion: Number of people who are overweight and obese in the world

860 million: Number of people who are malnourished in the world

$27 billion: Cost of food wasted annually in Canada, the largest portion of which comes from households

122 kilograms per person: Canadian food waste at retail and consumer level in 2009 for fruits and vegetables

6 kg per person: Canadian food waste at retail and consumer level in 2009 for dairy products

10 kg per person: Canadian food waste at retail and consumer level in 2009 for boneless chicken

16 kg per person: Canadian food waste at retail and consumer level in 2009 for boneless red meats

18 kg per person: Canadian food waste at retail and consumer level in 2009 for for oil, fats, sugar and syrup

The proportion of food estimated to be lost along the Canadian Food Value Chain (FVC) breaks down as follows:

17: Average percentage of meals left uneaten by American diners in restaurants, hotels and institutions like schools, hospitals, prisons

35 million tons: Amount of food waste in U.S. landfills in 2010

70: percentage of U.S. freshwater supply used in for agricultural production; more than one quarter of that water is accounted for by wasted food