One out of every four calories produced by the global agricultural system is being lost or wasted, according to new analysis. This poses a serious challenge to the planet's ability to reduce hunger and meet the food needs of a rapidly-expanding global population.

Released on World Environment Day (WED), which this year carries the theme 'Think.Eat.Save - Reduce Your Foodprint', the new working paper, Reducing Food Loss and Waste, shows that more than half of the food lost and wasted in Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia occurs close to the fork-at the consumption stage. By contrast, in developing countries, about two-thirds of the food lost and wasted occurs close to the farm-after harvest and storage.

Reducing Food Loss and Waste was produced by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and draws on research from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

It makes a range of recommendations including the development of a "food loss and waste protocol"?a global standard for how to measure, monitor, and report food loss and waste. If what gets measured gets managed, then such a protocol could go a long way toward helping governments and companies implement targeted efforts to reduce food loss and waste.

According to the study, which was released today in Mongolia, global host of WED 2013, the world will need about 60 percent more food calories in 2050 compared to 2006 if global demand continues on its current trajectory.

Halving current rates of food loss and waste, say the authors, would reduce this gap by a fifth. This would also result in major savings in water use, energy, pesticides and fertilizers, and would be a boost for global food security.

"Beyond all the environmental benefits, reducing food loss and waste will save money for people and companies," said Craig Hanson, Director of WRI's People & Ecosystems Program and a co-author of the study. "The world needs urgent solutions to feed its growing population and reducing loss and waste is a critical piece toward a more sustainable food future."

"It is an extraordinary fact that in the 21st century, close to 25 per cent of all the calories linked with growing and producing food are lost or wasted between the farm and the fork-food that could feed the hungry, food that has required energy, water and soils in a world of increasing natural resource scarcities and environmental concerns including climate change," said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director.

For the complete article, please see UNEP News Centre.