FAO Denounces Food Waste

Rome, Sep 11 (Prensa Latina) The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Wednesday denounced that the world''s food waste amounts to 1.3 billion tons every year.

FAO added that the problem is intolerable considering that 870 million people are starving in the world.

The report points out that food waste causes serious damage to the natural resources on which humanity depends, in addition to having a high economic cost.

The document notes that the direct consequences of food waste (excluding fish and seafood) amount to 750 billion dollars.

It adds that such a disaster has environmental implications, especially on climate, the use of water, the soil and biodiversity.

FAO explained that the food produced by humans and not ingested, consumes water equivalent to the annual flow of the Volga River, in addition to releasing 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

FAO Director Jose Graciano da Silva called on peasants, fishermen, food processors and supermarkets, local and national governments, and consumers to make changes in the human food chain.

His call is aimed at preventing food waste and reusing or recycling whenever it is impossible to prevent it.

Da Silva noted that one-third of the food produced in the world cannot be lost due to inappropriate practices, while 870 million people are starving every day.