How much food is wasted in Canada each year?

Canada wastes 35.5 million tonnes of food each year.

What percentage of food in Canada is lost or wasted?

58% of all food in Canada is lost or wasted.

What is the environmental impact of food waste?

Food waste is a significant environmental threat, creating methane gas which is 25 times more damaging than carbon dioxide.

Where in the supply chain does most food waste occur?

71% of food waste occurs in the production, processing, and manufacturing stages.

How much food waste comes from homes?

14% of the overall total food waste comes from households.

What is the cost of food waste per household in Canada?

Canadians waste approximately $1,766 of food per household every year.

How can we reduce food waste?

We can rethink our view of food waste, improve planning, and ensure good food reaches those in need.

What are some reasons for food waste in the production stage?

Labor shortages, low prices making harvesting uneconomical, and canceled orders lead to food waste in production.

How do best before dates contribute to food waste?

Lack of regulation on best before dates leads to perfectly good food being thrown away as consumers seek items with far-out dates.

Why do retailers waste food?

Retailers keep shelves stocked full, knowing some food will inevitably go to waste to attract shoppers.

The Landscape of Food Waste in Canada | Second Harvest

00:04:36

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RnTIDl4Ci8

Summary

TLDRCanada's food loss and waste problem is alarming, with 35.5 million tonnes lost annually, enough to feed the population for five months. Approximately 58% of food is wasted while 5.6 million Canadians suffer from food insecurity. Food waste contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, primarily due to methane created from landfill food waste. The supply chain's production, processing, and retail stages account for most waste, exacerbated by labor issues, aesthetic standards, and consumer behavior regarding best before dates. Households also contribute significantly to waste, discarding 14% of food mainly due to expiration dates and lack of planning. To combat this, we need to reconsider food waste and implement solutions that redirect good food to communities in need.

Takeaways

🌍 Canada wastes enough food to feed 52 million people.
🍏 58% of all food in Canada is lost or wasted annually.
🤝 5.6 million Canadians are food insecure.
💨 Food waste is a significant source of methane emissions.
🌿 Production and processing stages account for 71% of waste.
🛒 Retailers waste food by overstocking attractive displays.
🍽️ Households discard 14% of food due to expiration dates.
💸 The average household wastes $1,766 of food per year.
🎯 Rethinking food waste can achieve better community outcomes.
🌱 Collective action can reduce food waste significantly.

Timeline

00:00:00 - 00:04:36
Canada faces a severe food waste problem, with 58% of food lost or wasted, totaling 35.5 million tonnes annually—enough to feed everyone in Canada for five months. This waste contributes to food insecurity for 5.6 million Canadians and poses significant environmental threats, as food waste emits greenhouse gases like methane. Various stages of the food supply chain contribute to this waste, with the majority occurring during production and processing due to factors like labor shortages, rejection of imperfect produce, and unfriendly best before date regulations. Retailers also exacerbate waste by overstocking products and consumers' shopping habits. Portion sizes and poor planning in restaurants and homes further increase waste, leading to an average loss of $1,766 per household per year. Addressing this complex issue requires a shift in perspective, recognizing food waste as an avoidable problem, and collaborating to redirect surplus food to those in need, creating a sustainable future.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

How much food is wasted in Canada each year?
Canada wastes 35.5 million tonnes of food each year.
What percentage of food in Canada is lost or wasted?
58% of all food in Canada is lost or wasted.
What is the environmental impact of food waste?
Food waste is a significant environmental threat, creating methane gas which is 25 times more damaging than carbon dioxide.
Where in the supply chain does most food waste occur?
71% of food waste occurs in the production, processing, and manufacturing stages.
How much food waste comes from homes?
14% of the overall total food waste comes from households.
What is the cost of food waste per household in Canada?
Canadians waste approximately $1,766 of food per household every year.
How can we reduce food waste?
We can rethink our view of food waste, improve planning, and ensure good food reaches those in need.
What are some reasons for food waste in the production stage?
Labor shortages, low prices making harvesting uneconomical, and canceled orders lead to food waste in production.
How do best before dates contribute to food waste?
Lack of regulation on best before dates leads to perfectly good food being thrown away as consumers seek items with far-out dates.
Why do retailers waste food?
Retailers keep shelves stocked full, knowing some food will inevitably go to waste to attract shoppers.

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00:00:04
Canada's food loss and waste problem is one of the worst in the world.
00:00:08
Although we have a population of 37 million, we have enough food
00:00:12
to feed 52 million people.
00:00:15
58% of all food in Canada is lost or wasted.
00:00:19
That is 35.5 million tonnes wasted every single year,
00:00:24
or enough to feed everyone in Canada for five full months.
00:00:28
And yet, 5.6 million Canadians are food insecure, meaning
00:00:32
they do not have the ability to access, purchase and prepare healthy food.
00:00:38
The problem doesn't end there.
00:00:40
Food loss and waste poses a significant environmental threat.
00:00:45
If food waste was a country, it would be the third
00:00:48
largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world.
00:00:52
This is because food that ends up in landfill creates methane gas,
00:00:56
which is 25 times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide.
00:01:03
So why do we have so much waste?
00:01:05
Food loss and waste occurs throughout the food supply chain
00:01:08
from production to consumption.
00:01:11
Let's look at some examples.
00:01:13
In production, fruit rots under trees due to labor shortages.
00:01:18
Low prices make it uneconomical for farmers to harvest their product.
00:01:22
Thousands of acres of produce are plowed back into the dirt
00:01:25
due to canceled orders.
00:01:28
In the fishing industry, fish are caught,
00:01:31
then tossed back into the water if they don't match the quota.
00:01:35
Next food goes to the processing
00:01:37
and manufacturing stage where we see further issues.
00:01:41
Produce that doesn't meet the exact size, color, shape or appearance is rejected.
00:01:47
Suppliers prepare far more product than they need for fear of shorting customers.
00:01:52
And it's at this stage that best before dates are put on products.
00:01:56
Lack of regulation on how these dates are set causes
00:01:59
unthinkable amounts of food to be wasted.
00:02:03
The production, processing and manufacturing
00:02:05
stages are where the most waste occurs.
00:02:08
71% of all food waste happens somewhere in these stages. Ouch!
00:02:15
From here, food goes on to distribution and then it is sold
00:02:19
at a retailer or as a meal in a hotel, restaurant or institution.
00:02:24
Let's take a look at these.
00:02:26
At the retail level, businesses have built waste into their business model.
00:02:30
Instead of just buying what they know they will sell, retailers keep the shelves
00:02:34
full of beautiful, fresh product, knowing that some of it will go to waste.
00:02:39
Shoppers avoid buying items when shelves aren't full.
00:02:43
Best before dates are a major source of food waste here
00:02:46
as consumers look for items with dates as far out as possible,
00:02:49
leaving the other items to be wasted.
00:02:53
At hotels, restaurants and institutions such as schools, prisons and hospitals,
00:02:58
plates are filled to create the feeling of abundance,
00:03:01
but are larger portion sizes than people can eat.
00:03:05
Some restaurants provide over a pound
00:03:07
more food per meal than diners can consume.
00:03:11
In hospitals, 19% of the food served goes back to the garbage.
00:03:17
On top of portion size, food is wasted from poor planning or inventory management.
00:03:23
Finally, food makes it to people's homes all across Canada.
00:03:27
Tragically, instead of getting eaten, too much of that food ends up in the garbage.
00:03:32
Of the overall total food waste.
00:03:34
14% comes from the home.
00:03:38
Perfectly good food is thrown out because it has passed the best before date.
00:03:43
Meals get pushed to the back of the fridge, only to be forgotten
00:03:47
and without a good meal plan that uses up the delicate foods first, fresh product
00:03:51
like meat, produce and dairy rot.
00:03:55
Canadians waste $1,766
00:04:00
of food per household every year.
00:04:03
While there are many issues throughout the supply chain that lead to waste,
00:04:07
there are as many solutions.
00:04:10
We all have a part to play.
00:04:12
We need to rethink how we view food waste,
00:04:14
not as a necessary evil, but as an avoidable issue.
00:04:19
Together, we can get this good food to people in our communities,
00:04:23
instead of sending it to a landfill.
00:04:26
Creating a greener, brighter tomorrow.