Agriculture ministers say countries should ensure excess food is given to the hungry instead of dumped like the estimated 1.3bn tonnes of annual food waste

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Food wasted by consumers is an enormous economic problem and nations should ensure excess food is given to the hungry instead of being thrown away, agriculture ministers from the G20 said on Friday.

The two-day meeting in Istanbul has focused on problems of food security and nutrition, including the impact of climate change. A reduction in the amount of food wasted would improve food security, the ministers said in their final communique.

“We note with great concern the significant extent of food loss and waste ... and their negative consequences for food security, nutrition, use of natural resources and the environment,” the ministers said.

“We highlight this as a global problem of enormous economic, environmental and societal significance.“

An estimated 1.3bn tonnes of food, or roughly 30 percent of global production, is lost or wasted annually, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said last year.

UN agencies said this would easily feed the world’s 800 million hungry.

To fight the problem, countries need better estimates of the amount of food they waste, as well as the economic impact of food loss, the G20 ministers said.