The Champions 12.3 coalition, dedicated to the UN goal of halving food loss and waste by 2030, said on Tuesday it would begin a series of assemblies in October to encourage countries and companies to reach that goal. More than one-third of food produced in the world is lost or wasted each year.
“It is nothing short of a travesty that more than a billion tons of food goes to waste every year,” said Hans Hoogeveen, co-chair of the coalition. “The Champions 12.3 assembly will focus on converting ambition to reduce food loss and waste into tangible action.” The assembly will convene in October to build on momentum from last week’s UN food summit, with other sessions to follow.
The group released a progress report that cited new estimates showing on-farm losses and consumer-level waste are larger than previously thought. “Although Covid-19 has slowed efforts to reduce food loss and waste,” it said, political attention to the issue is growing.