A definitive study has been released in Canada that more accurately quantifies the amount of food wasted each year in terms of both avoidable waste and unavoidable waste. In total, almost 58% of Canadian food production is wasted. Of that, 32% is considered avoidable waste which means just shy of $50 billion of ‘usable groceries’ is wasted each year.
The original technical report and road map is from Second Harvest who (according to their website), is “Canada’s largest food rescue charity with a dual mission of environmental protection and hunger relief. We recover nutritious, unsold food before it becomes waste and distribute to a broad network of 373 social service organizations.”
- The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste (January 2019)
Other food waste-related articles include:
- Food Waste: What supermarkets throw out (CBC Marketplace documentary)
- Other countries crack down on discards, so why are we so far behind? (CBC Marketplace)
- Wasted! The story of food waste (CBC The Passionate Eye documentary)
- Follow-up piece: Fifteen Canadian Initiatives Trying to Reduce Food Waste