In order to inform new policy, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission calculated the potential effects of reducing food waste in the EU. Nearly 59 million tonnes of food were wasted in the EU in 2020. This equates to 131 kg of food wasted per person residing in the European Union, or nearly 10% of all food delivered to households, restaurants, and other food-related businesses. The Joint Research Centre (JRC)'s scientists calculated that 16% of all greenhouse gas emissions from the EU food chain are attributable to food waste. Using the global economy-wide model known as MAGNET (Modular Applied GeNeral Equilibrium Tool), Commission scientists at the JRC examined the possible economic, social, and environmental effects of reducing EU food waste by 2030. In addition, using methods created for the Consumption Footprint indicator, the environmental advantages of reducing food waste have been evaluated.
With varied levels of food waste reductions across the supply chain, the effects of three reduction scenarios were calculated, with declines in EU food waste of about 12%, 23%, and 41%. According to the findings, households in the European Union could save an average of 220-720 euros annually with such reductions in food waste. This would result in a fall of nearly 6% in the proportion of household spending on food.
Using less food waste might lower food prices. For instance, according to the JRC analysis, fruit costs could drop by 2% while vegetable prices could drop as much as 4%. In addition, depending on the scenario taken into account, it predicted that reducing food waste could result in a drop in greenhouse gas emissions of up to 108 million tonnes. You can find more information on this link.
