Food waste occurs at every stage of the food chain, from production to consumption. Pre-distribution food loss can occur due to poor harvests, while post-harvest handling and storage can also cause waste as food is discarded for imperfections or damaged in transit. Some food loss and waste is unavoidable, such as with eggshells, tea bags, or bones, but much of it can be avoided, especially in retail and household settings. In retail, approximately 14 percent of avoidable food waste occurs as foods are often overstocked by grocery stores prioritizing constant availability at the expense of wasted product. In households, food is primarily wasted due to spoilage, with the greatest volume lost being perishables, especially fruits and vegetables. This last area accounts for nearly half of all food waste in Canada.
In Canada, each household is estimated to throw away nearly three kilograms of food that could have been eaten each week. To put that number in context, that is about 15 apples or large carrots sent to the landfill unnecessarily each week. Food costs account on average for over 11 percent of household income, with lower-income families having to shell out an even greater percentage of their income on food. The average household is throwing away almost $900 each year and with nearly seven million Canadian households struggling to get enough food on the table — and two in five reporting cost as a barrier to healthy eating — that waste adds up.
Beyond money alone, food waste may also impact the health of our diets. Often, it’s the nutrient-rich fruits, vegetables, and perishables ending up in the trash, rather than shelf-stable ultra-processed foods which have known health consequences.
With food loss and waste occurring at every stage of the food chain, the solutions are needed at every stage as well. While food loss earlier in the chain may be harder to avoid, retailers and households hold the power to address food waste every day. Current solutions targeting food waste include upcycling food waste, creating city compost programs to reroute waste away from landfills, and promoting consumer awareness via education to prevent food from becoming waste in the first place.
