Nearly 60 percent of food produced in Canada – amounting to 35.5 million metric tonnes – is lost and wasted annually. Of that, 32 percent – equalling 11.2 million metric tonnes of lost food – is avoidable and is edible food that could be redirected to support people in our communities. The total financial value of this potentially rescuable lost and wasted food is a staggering $49.46 billion.
These unprecedented findings are the result of a year-long research project undertaken by Second Harvest, Canada’s largest food rescue organization, and Value Chain Management International, a leading public and industry voice in the area of food waste. This ground- breaking report is being released today in Toronto.
The report, funded by the Walmart Foundation, is the first to use front-line, primary data from the entire food supply chain. It is also the first to create a standardized system of measurement that can be used by any food business – in Canada and globally – to track and reduce their food loss and waste.
The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste is available as a solution-focused Roadmap and a 122-page Technical Report from SecondHarvest.ca/Research.
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We respectfully acknowledge that we live, work and play on the traditional territory of many Indigenous Nations and we humbly extend my respect to Indigenous individuals, communities and Elders, past and present, as the traditional custodians of this land.
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