Canadians are among the world's most well-fed people — so much so that we're wasting billions of dollars worth of edible food a year, mostly coming from our homes, according to a newly-released study.
The Cut Waste, Grow Profit draft report from the Ontario-based Value Chain Management Centre (VCMC) suggests that more than half (51%) of the estimated $27 billion of food wasted countrywide ends up as unwanted leftovers dropped into household trash bins.
Expectations for larger portion sizes, confusion about safe consumption and sell-by dates, and the low cost to households of over-purchasing and wasting food were among factors blamed for the wasteful behaviour.
The VCMC is an extension of the independent agri-products think-tank, the George Morris Centre, and provides annual research about food waste.
Food waste, as defined by the draft report, is the loss and disposal of food that's perfectly fit for human consumption. The group released the paper ahead of the forthcoming Cut Waste, Grow Profit forum on Nov. 19 in Mississauga, Ont.
The chart provided in the background document points out that the second-worst area of food waste is via packaging and processing (blamed for 18% of lost food), followed by retail stores (11%), the farming stage (9%), the food service industry (8%) and transport and distribution 3%).
Last month, the U.S. Natural Resources Defence Council estimated that nearly 40% of food in the States ends up in the trash ever year. The figures are roughly in line with recent estimates of how much Canadians throw away.
Globally, nearly one-third of all food is lost. That amounts to about 1.3-billion metric tonnes of food per year — enough to feed an estimated 860 million people who are malnourished, the draft paper says.
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