Food waste in Canada in 2023

The United Nations Environment Programme has revealed that Canada is responsible for 20% of global food waste, or 931 million tonnes of food. ¹ . How is food wasted along the food chain? To avoid misinformation, we did some research and told you more about what we learned.

Food waste in the food chain

According to Éric Ménard, most published studies are flawed. While the Food Waste Index Report 2021¹ raises the question of a representative sample, it also exposes only 3 out of 6 links in the food system: retail, food services, and households. It therefore excludes agricultural production, processing, and distribution from the calculation, which are nevertheless responsible for 54% of food waste in Canada. ² .

Furthermore, the majority of industries and businesses do not differentiate between food loss and waste, which has an impact on the methodology applied. Indeed, to compensate for losses and be able to respond to fluctuations in demand, these stakeholders base their business model on an upward forecast. Food waste such as surplus stock, unsold items, and fruits and vegetables removed from shelves due to non-compliance, considered losses, would then disengage them from the phenomenon.

Data supported by another report according to which one of the largest distributors of fruits and vegetables in Quebec throws away 3,200 tonnes of food annually, or nearly 9 tonnes per day ³ .

If from one analysis to another, the vocabulary and what it includes varies on the one hand, for Éric Ménard, the figures of the study ¹ are even distorted since all the inedible parts of food such as kernels, ears, etc. are included in losses and waste.

" Moisture loss is also considered mass loss, which would be tantamount to saying that cooking is wasteful. And while they did take these factors into consideration, they are not included in the report. "

A confusion that makes it even more difficult to sort through the information.

“ The bottom line is that too much food in perfect condition for consumption is still wasted, even before it reaches consumers. »

Food waste in Canadian households

The major difference in methodology is also reflected on the consumer side. The 2019 Canadian study reports that households are responsible for 21% of food waste, compared to 61% for the Food Waste Index Report 2021 ¹ .

If the analysis of the first study seems more realistic, this would be 2.3 million tonnes wasted in homes, around 150 kg per household and around 65 kg per person.

What initiatives are there to reduce waste?

Waste in the food industry

Agricultural production fluctuates. It would be appropriate to educate people about the variation in food availability and standardize stockouts; just as raising awareness about breaking standards would allow them to sell different formats and avoid landfill.

In the food industry, due to the lack of a well-established system, sustainable outlets are struggling to gain a foothold. Some initiatives, such as donations or sales to processing companies, are emerging, but unfortunately only succeed in recovering a fraction of the wasted food.

Food waste at home

What's the main reason consumers waste? Customs have changed! Now we can choose to throw away and buy immediately.

Just as composting is a great idea for soil preservation, it also helps reduce food waste. And while it's undeniable that the industry needs to change its ways, we can all do our part.

Through small actions, it is possible to combat food waste at home :

• Raising awareness of the problem of food waste
• Meal planning
• Discover good anti-waste recipes
• Learn about good conservation practices...

We have every interest in moving towards a society less focused on overproduction, but more focused on basic needs.

The first category of food implicated in food waste (45.4%) is fruit and vegetables At the same time, the Food Banks' Hunger Count report shows an increase in the number of requests for food aid in Quebec* (+33% since 2019) ⁴ .

Article contributed by Éric Ménard, also known as Éric l'Enverdeur, speaker and expert in the fight against food waste and ethically responsible consumption.

Photo credit: Bruno Zara

Sources:

¹ UNEP (2021). Food Waste Index Report

² Value Chain Management International and Second Harvest (2019) The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste

 RECYC-QUÉBEC (2022). Study on the quantification of food losses and waste

⁴ Quebec Food Bank Organization (2023). Hunger Count

⁵ Éric Ménard (2019). Analysis of food waste in Montreal: case studies in the commercial and industrial sectors