International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste Reduction - 29 September 2023

Currently, almost a third of food produced is wasted, through post-harvest losses on farm and in the supply chain as well as through waste in homes, shops and restaurants. 

At the same time, some 700 million people go hungry and many more suffer malnutrition, while agricultural and food systems have major impacts on the environment, contributing to biodiversity loss and climate change, including through land use change, overfishing and overharvesting and pollution.

Our food systems cannot be resilient if they are not sustainable, hence the need to focus on the adoption of integrated approaches designed to reduce food loss and waste. Both the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (in its Target 12.3) and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (in its Target 16) call for halving global food waste by 2030.

Actions are required globally and locally to maximise the use of the food we produce. The introduction of technologies, innovative solutions (including e-commerce platforms for marketing, retractable mobile food processing systems), new ways of working and good practices to manage food quality and reduce food loss and waste are key to implementing this transformative change.

The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, with the 2023 theme “Reducing food loss and waste:  Taking Action to Transform Food Systems”, is an opportunity to call to action both the public (national or local authorities) and the private sector (businesses and individuals), to prioritise actions and move ahead with innovation to reduce food loss and waste towards restoring and building back better and resilient-ready, food systems.

Governments have the responsibility to take measures to promote reductions in food waste, including through appropriate regulations and public information. 

Businesses in the food sector have the responsibility to:

• identify and disclose their impacts on biodiversity
• to progressively reduce their negative impacts, and
• to provide information to enable sustainable choices by consumers.

The implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework requires a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach. Achieving these targets will contribute to food security while reducing negative impacts on the environment. 

More Information:

View Full Statement

Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework- Target 16

Agricultural Biodiversity