Almost Half the World’s Food Supply Goes to Waste

Apparently the world is wasting (literal) tons of food. As much as half of the food that’s produced, said a London-based study.

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers found that of the four billon tons of food produced around the world, as much as two billion tons goes uneaten. The study stated a variety of reasons including “inadequate infrastructure and storage facilities, strict sell-by dates, buy-one-get-one-free offers, and consumers demanding cosmetically perfect food.”

In developed countries like the United States, a lot of the blame lies with consumers, and in Britain they found that about $16 billion worth of food is thrown away in homes every year.

With that gross amount of waste, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers calls for more efficient food practices considering the world’s population is growing immensely, and there are still hungry mouths to feed all over the world. They’re also calling for developing countries to explore ways to minimize waste when building infrastructure (cough China).

For now, New Yorkers, maybe think twice before attempting to eat a gut bomb all by yourself.