Food waste

It depends on which ones you try, @Rachel_Scope. The best I had, sadly disappeared, but after trying a few more, I now buy from https://lowcarbfood.co/collections/baked-goods/products/low-carb-bread-rolls-pack-of-4 They're obviously not like regular bread or rolls, but they are good, still soft. As you can see, only 1.2g of carbs, so seriously low. They're not cheap, so when I'm 'flush', I buy four packs for the freezer, but I don't buy the bread anymore, I just slice a roll up for toast.

Here are the stats about global food waste, from a site by the UN.

The Numbers in a Nutshell

In 2022, 1.05 billion tonnes of food were wasted—19% of food at the consumer level (retail, food service and households) (UNEP, 2024).

13% of food is also lost from post-harvest up to, and excluding, retail (FAO).

Households generate 60% of all food waste—equivalent to 631 million tonnes in 2022. Food services contribute 290 million tonnes and retail 131 million (UNEP, 2024).

The average person wastes 79 kg of food each year—equivalent to at least 1 billion meals wasted every day.

Food waste occurs while 783 million people face hunger and one-third of the global population is food insecure.

A Global Issue

Food waste is not just a problem of wealthy countries.

Average per capita household food waste differs by only 7 kg/year between high-, upper-middle-, and lower-middle-income countries (UNEP, 2024).

Progress is possible: the UK and Japan reduced household food waste by 22% and 53%, respectively.

Governments, municipalities, and food businesses must collaborate to scale solutions and support households to act.

Climate Action

Food loss and waste generate 8–10% of global greenhouse gas emissions (IPCC, 2019).

Greenhouse gases are emitted at every stage of the food supply chain—from production to disposal—regardless of whether food is consumed.

Rotting food in landfills contributes up to 14% of global methane emissions, a greenhouse gas over 80 times more potent than CO₂ over 20 years (calculated through US EPA, 2025)

Methane from decomposing organic waste in landfills, open dumps and wastewater contributes nearly 20% of all human-caused methane emissions.

GHG emissions from food loss and waste worsen drought, desertification, and extreme weather unpredictability.

Pollution and Chemicals

71% of municipal solid waste—of which food is often the largest component—ends up in methane-emitting landfills.

Fertilizer use for uneaten food has contributed to over 400 ocean dead zones, harming marine life and ecosystems.

Nature and Biodiversity

28% of the world’s arable land is used to produce food that is never eaten.

Wasted food consumes a quarter of all freshwater used in agriculture—while a land area larger than China is used to grow it.

Food waste squanders critical natural resources and accelerates biodiversity loss.

Target 16 of the Global Biodiversity Framework explicitly calls for halving global food waste by 2030.

Economic Impact

Food loss and waste costs the global economy USD 1 trillion annually.

For every USD 1 invested in food waste reduction, the return is USD 14 (Hanson & Mitchell, 2017).

City investments yield even higher returns—up to USD 92 for every dollar spent, considering resident benefits (Champions 12.3).

Here is the website for more info...

https://www.stopfoodlosswaste.org/about/facts#

Starting in 2020, the UN made September 29 the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste. I didn't know that till now, so now it's marked in my calendar for next year.

Oh dear! My post about the stats of food waste seems to come out of left field! I forgot to say why I posted it as it relates to this thread. It's just that food waste is already a serious problem, but if indeed food is rotting faster, this means the problem of food waste is going to get even worse.