FAO Digital Media Hub - International Day of Awareness of Food Loss And Waste

Hide details

Explore More Collections

Conceptually similar

International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste

International Conference on Reducing Food Loss and Waste

UN - ECOSOC International Day of Clean Energy

Video message International Day of Indigenous People

World Food Safety Day 2025

International Day for Biodiversity 2025 “Harmony with nature and sustainable development”

International Day of Potato 2025

World Food Day 2024

2024 World Union of Wholesale Markets (WUWM) Conference

International Day of Plant Health 2025

World Food Day 2024 CLEAN

UN Day for South-South Cooperation

International Mountain Day 2024

FAO / FOOD LOSS AND WASTE EVENT

9th Asian Regional Conference and 75th International Congress of the International Commission on Irrigation & Drainage

WORLD PULSES DAY 2025

World Food Safety Day 2024

International Day for Biodiversity: 'Be Part of the Plan'

Rome Nutrition Week

World Bee Day 2025 and 2nd Forum for Action on Sustainable Beekeeping and Pollination

Add to collection

Download

International Day of Awareness of Food Loss And Waste

29 September 2025, Video Message by Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General for the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss And Waste

Language English

Duration 3m54s

Video Type Video Message

Date 09/15/2025

File size 422.31 MB

Unique ID UF1AHUF

Production details and shotlist

Script Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. Welcome to the 6th International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, and thank you for joining us today to share your experiences and achievements.

2. Reducing food loss and waste plays a significant role in building more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable agrifood systems,

3. And in achieving our goal of halving per-capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels by 2030,

4. As well as reducing food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.

5. Today, we know that an estimated 13.2 percent of food - the equivalent of 1.25 billion tonnes of food - is lost after harvest and prior to retail.

6. And a further 19 percent – the equivalent of over 1 billion tonnes of food - was wasted in households, food services and in retail in 2022.

7. At the same time, approximately 720 million people faced hunger globally in 2024, and 2.6 billion people could not afford a healthy diet.

8. By taking action to prevent and reduce food loss and waste, we can generate triple wins through:
• First: improving food security and nutrition;
• Second: generating economic benefit for primary producers, businesses, and consumers; and
• Third: lowering environmental and climate impacts, while protecting biodiversity and reducing pollution.
9. To realize these wins will require a diverse set of targeted investments across the entire value chain to achieve the full potential, at scale, of proven solutions for reducing food loss and waste in a sustainable manner.

10. These actions are needed in all countries, but particularly in low and middle-income economies that carry the weight of food insecurity and malnutrition.

11. These investments span:
• One: infrastructure development to reduce food losses;
• Two: technology and innovation to reduce food loss and waste, and to monitor progress through the tracking of metrics;
• Three: circular economy approaches that maximize the use of food; and
• Four: capacity development of value chain stakeholders to reduce food loss and waste, and for consumers to reduce food waste.
12. Today, FAO is pleased to launch Optiwaste, a digital application that facilitates the registration and analysis of food waste in schools, as a basis for improving the nutritional quality of school meals and reducing food waste.
Ladies and Gentlemen
13. Food loss and waste is a systemic issue that cannot be solved by any single actor or entity.

14. Partnerships are essential to enable and accelerate coordinated action from till to table and beyond.

15. Strong partnerships with the private sector are particularly important in unlocking the investments and strengthening the capacity needed to enable the adoption of new technologies and innovations.

16. Accelerating actions to reduce food loss and waste is now a matter of urgency, and a priority, to ensure a sustainable foods-secure future for all,

17. And the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life – leaving no one behind.

18. Thank You.

QU Dongyu, FAO Director General - Video

Video messages - Qu Dongyu, FAO Director General

2025 DG Video messages - ALL

09 - September

International Day of Awareness of Food Loss And Waste

(Standard Video)