UNEP’s Food Waste Index Report 2024 estimates that retail, food service and households generated 1.05 billion tonnes of food waste in 2022. About 60% came from households, averaging 79 kg per person per year.
Where waste happened
Households accounted for 60% of food waste.
- 60% households
- 28% food service
- 12% retail
Average annual household food waste, including edible and inedible parts
Before the bin
Several small decisions happen before food is discarded.
Overbuying, changed plans, oversized recipes, forgotten storage and confusion over date labels can all contribute. Waste emerges across shopping, storage, cooking and serving—not from one careless moment.
That is why guilt alone is a weak tool. The path of leftovers—whether they return to another meal or disappear—can be more informative.
Read the billion carefully
Not all 1.05 billion tonnes were edible meals.
For international comparison, UNEP combines edible and inedible parts. A higher estimate than the earlier report also reflects broader data and improved methods, so it cannot be read as a simple trend line.
The number should not shift the entire burden onto households. It is a baseline for households, retail and food service to measure and redesign their systems.
What to keep
A meal record can illuminate not only what was eaten, but what happened to what remained.
How MorselFlow fits
Yesterday’s photo may remind you what is still in the fridge.
MorselFlow does not calculate food waste. But yesterday’s meal photo may bring back the remaining soup or the half-used vegetables behind it.
The goal does not have to be total inventory control. Sometimes one recovered memory is useful enough.
This article explains research and statistics for a general audience. It is not medical diagnosis, treatment or individualized nutrition advice. Results depend on the participants and conditions and do not guarantee the same outcome for everyone.