The European Commission will present binding proposals later this year against food waste and to reduce waste streams in agriculture and horticulture. This would be the first of its kind worldwide, according to the European Environment Agency.
As much as one fifth of food production in the EU is wasted today. By reducing these losses by 2030, about 4.7 million hectares of agricultural land can be saved, calculated the EEB.
According to the environmental bureau EEB, EU countries waste more food than they import from non-EU countries. In 2021, the EU imported 138 million tons of agricultural products at a cost of 150 billion euros.
At the same time, it wastes 153.5 million tons of food annually, noted the EEB. Food waste also accounts for a loss of 143 billion euros per year and is the basis of 6% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the EU.
The EEB and 42 other organizations from 20 EU countries published a joint declaration on Friday calling on European authorities to legally oblige member states to halve food waste by 2030.
They also want wastage of agricultural products to be better accounted for. According to a report from last year by the World Wildlife Fund WWF, far more is thrown away than previously estimated.