Summary report about Hungarian food waste initiatives
The agricultural team of the Dutch Embassy in Budapest completed a short summary report about food waste in Hungary.
Food waste
According to the FAO, about one-third of all the food produced in the world goes to waste every year. Food waste does not only present a huge economic loss – estimated to be around the 1 trillion dollar mark -, but also an environmental and social challenge.
If food waste was a country, it would rank as the third biggest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, after China and the USA. Simultaneously, about one in nine people live in constant hunger and do not receive adequate amounts of food, making the issue of food waste one of most serious challenges of the 21st century.
Food waste in Hungary
Hungary produces close to 2 million tons of food waste every year, which more or less aligns with the EU average. However, Hungary differs in the fact that most food goes to waste in the processing and production stages, while household consumption and retail amount for a smaller part of food waste, as is the case in most Western European states.
There are a number of initiatives in the civil, private and public sectors that deal with food waste. Some of the largest retail chains in Hungary are in close cooperation with national, regional and local charities, animal welfare organisations and the bioenergy industry. Other organisations work on increasing the awareness of Hungarian consumers about the environmental, financial and social impacts of food waste.
To find out more about the state of food waste in Hungary, initiatives dealing with the issue, and some of the biggest challenges in solving it, read the report by downloading the document below.
Peter Bori – Junior Policy Advisor Agriculture