International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste
Next: September 29, 2027
A third of all food never gets eaten.
The story
Where it comes from
The UN General Assembly designated 29 September the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste in December 2019, and the first was observed in 2020, led by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the UN Environment Programme.
How it's celebrated
Food banks, restaurants and supermarkets run campaigns on leftovers, 'ugly' produce and date labels; governments report progress toward halving food waste by 2030, a Sustainable Development Goal target.
Did you know
- Around 13 per cent of food is lost between harvest and retail, and a further 19 per cent is wasted in households, food service and shops.
- If food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and the United States.
- Malaysians throw away an estimated 17,000 tonnes of food a day, much of it still edible.
Coming up next
- International Translation Day · September 30, 2027
- World Maritime Day · September 30, 2027
- National Day of the People's Republic of China · October 1, 2027
- International Coffee Day · October 1, 2027
- International Day of Older Persons · October 1, 2027
- World Smile Day · October 1, 2027