2026 data

Food waste statistics 2026

One third of all food produced globally never gets eaten. Here are the numbers that put the scale of the problem — and the opportunity — in perspective.

1/3

of all food produced globally is wasted

Source: FAO estimate

Global scale

1.3bn

tonnes wasted per year

8–10%

of global GHG emissions from food waste

$1 trillion

economic cost globally per year

28%

of agricultural land grows food that is wasted

•If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases after the USA and China.
•Food production consumes around 70% of global freshwater — water wasted on food that is never eaten represents one of the largest inefficiencies in human activity.
•Meanwhile, an estimated 733 million people face food insecurity globally (UN, 2023).

Germany specifically

~11m

tonnes wasted per year in Germany

59%

comes from private households

78 kg

wasted per person per year

~€235

lost per person annually

•Fruit and vegetables account for the largest share of household food waste in Germany (around 34%).
•Bread and bakery products are the second most wasted category — a major opportunity for surplus sharing platforms.
•Germany has a national target to halve food waste by 2030, in line with UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3.

Climate impact

The climate cost of food waste is not just the methane released when food rots in landfill. It includes all the emissions produced during growing, transporting, processing, and refrigerating food that was never eaten.

•Wasting 1 kg of beef generates the equivalent of roughly 27 kg of CO₂ — the same as driving 170 km in an average car.
•Wasting 1 kg of bread generates around 1.6 kg CO₂ equivalent — small per item but enormous at scale.
•Reducing food waste is ranked among the top five most impactful climate actions individuals can take, ahead of switching to renewable energy at home.

Economic cost

•EU households waste food worth an estimated €143 billion per year — roughly €300 per person.
•A German household of two wastes food worth approximately €470 per year on average.
•For food businesses, waste also means wasted labour, energy, packaging, and logistics — not just ingredient cost.

What you can do

Individual action matters at scale. If every German household halved its food waste, it would eliminate around 3.2 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per year.

•Plan meals and shop with a list — the single most effective habit to reduce household waste.
•Share surplus food instead of binning it — one neighbour's leftover is another's dinner.
•Use food rescue apps — both to find cheap food and to give away what you cannot finish.
•Compost what cannot be eaten — keeps organic waste out of landfill and reduces methane emissions.

Statistics are estimates based on data from the FAO, UNEP, WWF, and Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft. Last updated: July 2026.