“We live in a world where we grow enough food to feed everyone, yet one-third of all food produced is wasted.”—UN Food and Agriculture Organization
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Three in ten Filipino households – or 31.4% to be exact – experience moderate to severe food insecurity, according to the 2023 National Nutrition Survey (NNS) of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
Compared to the 33.4% recorded in the 2021 Expanded National Nutrition Survey (ENNS), this is a minor improvement. However, there is a percentage increase in severe food insecurity, with 2.7% of households now reporting severe hunger, compared to 2.0% in 2021.
The 2023 NNS showed that families with more than five (5) people, those living in rural areas, and those with the lowest incomes are disproportionately more likely to experience food insecurity. Because of their low resources and socioeconomic disparities, these groups have a harder time getting food.
Food security, according to the FAO, is when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
Additionally, the FAO mentioned that food security is built on four pillars: availability, access, utilization, and stability. When these pillars are not adequately supported, households experience food insecurity.
The 2023 NNS also revealed that households that experience moderate to severe food insecurity were concentrated in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Eastern Visayas, SOCCKSARGEN (South Cotabato or Cotabato del Sur, Cotabato or Cotabato del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos), Zamboanga Peninsula, and Caraga Administrative Region.
The FNRI recommends targeted policy interventions such as strengthening social safety nets, improving agricultural productivity, and investing in rural infrastructure that can help address food insecurity and its impacts on food and nutrition outcomes. Partnerships with the private sector are also crucial for fostering innovation and improving food systems.
But what FNRI failed to recommend is the issue of food waste. “A third of all the food we produce doesn’t actually feed anyone,” wrote Anthony Warner, author of Ending Hunger: The Quest to Feed the World Without Destroying It. “This is the shocking truth of our supposedly efficient food system. Over thirty percent by weight, and about one quarter of all calories, ends up in the trash.”
Warner posited that approximately one-third of all environmental degradation serves no purpose other than to fill the world’s landfills, which in turn requires significant energy expenditure for their disposal. He asserted that this waste incurs an extraordinary annual cost of $1 trillion and is responsible for 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions associated with agricultural activities.
The Philippines is one of the countries which waste the food it produces. FNRI data from 2018-2019 showed that daily rice wastage per household averaged 53 grams of cooked rice.
By using the 2020 population as a reference, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) translated this to an estimated reduction in uncooked rice wastage from 9 grams
(almost 2 tablespoons) per person in 2009 to 6 grams (1 tablespoon) per person in 2024.
According to PhilRice, we have saved an estimated P3.6 billion worth of uncooked rice “due to reduced rice wastage across the country.”
“Despite the significant savings, the amount of rice wasted could still sustain 2.79 million people for a year,” commented Dr. Hazel V. Antonio-Beltran, head of PhilRice’s Development Communication Division.
Aside from rice, Filipinos also waste vegetables and meat, according to the FNRI study. The study indicated that households with five or fewer members exhibited lower levels of plate waste from fish, meat, and poultry compared to those with more than five members. It was also observed that households in the wealthiest quintile generated more plate waste than those in the poorest quintile.
Plate waste is closely linked to hunger incidence and threatened food security in the country. “Millions of Filipinos under poverty and experiencing food insecurity are struggling to be fed, and the food that is simply thrown away or discarded might actually be enough to feed them,” said FNRI Director Imelda Angeles Agdeppa.
The Food Waste Index Report 2024, released by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), showed 1.05 billion tons of food went to waste. Data showed that some 19% of food available to consumers was lost overall at retail, food service, and household levels. That is in addition to around 13% of food lost in the supply chain, as estimated by the UN Food and Agriculture (FAO) from post-harvest up to the point of sale.
“Food waste is a global tragedy. Millions will go hungry today as food is wasted across the world,” pointed out Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), adding that this ongoing issue not only impacts the global economy but also exacerbates climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
UNEP said on average, each person wastes 79 kilograms of food annually. This is the equivalent of 1.3 meals every day for everyone in the world impacted by hunger.
