A new report shows that billions of dollars’ worth of food is unnecessarily thrown away in Canada every year.
A report released Tuesday by the nonprofit Second Harvest found that Canada’s food system throws away an estimated $58 billion worth of food each year. Of this amount, 41.7 percent does not need to be thrown away.
During a Tuesday morning news conference at the organization’s headquarters in Etobicoke, CEO Lori Nikkel said the 8.83 million tons of food that is wasted in Canada each year could be avoided, could be used to feed those in need and that’s enough to feed 17 million people three times as many.
The study, co-authored by Second Harvest and Value Chain Management International (VCMI), found that while total food waste in the country has decreased by 20% since 2019, avoidable waste has increased by 6.5%. .
The study found that best-before dates are also a concern, as they account for almost a quarter of all avoidable food waste. Nikkel found that expiration dates do not affect safety, but reflect food quality and result in $13.2 billion in food waste each year.
From an environmental perspective, the report notes that avoidable food waste causes approximately 25.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, or approximately 253,000 flights from Toronto to Vancouver.
Overall, it showed that almost half of the food produced in Canada and for Canada, including imported food – 46.5% to be precise. – is wasted.
This undated file photo shows food waste.
Nikkel said the findings shed light on one of the “most pressing issues of our time: food waste and its deep connection to the affordability crisis that we are all witnessing and that many of us feel.”
“We find ourselves in a paradox. “Food prices are skyrocketing, making it increasingly difficult for millions of Canadians to put healthy food on their table, while we continue to waste quantities of perfectly edible food,” she said.
“The stark contrast between scarcity and waste is not only tragic. This should be unacceptable to everyone and that is why this updated study is so important.”
Nikkel said it is more important than ever for Canadians to “understand the full scope of food, where we waste it and why, and right now, when people can least afford to waste it,” and take action to reduce it.’
She also noted that the $58 billion in food waste seen annually in Canada represents the cost of groceries to 3.7 million Canadian families each year and comes at a time when food banks and other nonprofit organizations are struggling to maintain record numbers people across the country experience food insecurity.
“It’s not just about saving resources. It’s about making the most of the resources we have. Every pound of food wasted that can be avoided is a missed meal for a family,” she said.
“The research we are presenting today is more than just numbers. It is a call to action, action, action. By reducing food waste, we can directly impact food insecurity, help stabilize our environment by lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and make even more of all our resources.”
Second Harvest CEO Lori Nikkel speaks at the October 22 launch of a new report on food waste in Canada. (Kenneth Enlow/CP24)
The release of the food waste report comes just after the North York Harvest Food Bank issued an urgent appeal for emergency aid after it was unable to keep staples such as canned meat, oil and other proteins on its shelves. As of Thanksgiving, the organization was about 75,000 pounds short of its goal of 200,000 pounds.
It is estimated that 1 in 10 Torontonians depend on food banks.
In Mississauga, the number is 1 in 13.
Second Harvest and VCMI said the results of their latest study “underscore the urgent need for comprehensive action to reduce food waste, especially as food affordability remains a nationwide issue,” adding that the updated study is intended to be “a blueprint for a future in which food waste is minimized, food surpluses are redistributed, and Canadians benefit from a more sustainable and efficient food system.”
They also noted that the intention of this research is to provide industry, government and society with a key resource on how to learn about and deal with food waste.
The report was funded by Loblaw Companies Ltd. To prepare it, VCMI surveyed over 1,000 organizations across the food supply chain. The food waste analysis company also conducted dozens of interviews and a series of workshops with food industry experts, as well as researchers, political allies, members of government, people working through universities and associations, and several food charities.
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