What is Food Waste?

What is Food Waste and Why Does it Matter?

Food waste is simply any edible or inedible part of food that is discarded, lost, or not eaten. And it can happen at every stage of the food system starting from farms to your kitchen!

We often divide food waste into two main categories:
- Avoidable (edible food thrown away)
- Unavoidable (inedible parts like bones or shells)

Food waste includes:

Food that goes bad
Leftovers people don’t eat
Food scraps from cooking
Unsold food from stores or restaurants

And as mentioned above, it can come from homes, restaurants, supermarkets, farms, factories, and transport.

Avoidable Food Waste (Edible Food Waste)

Food that could have been eaten but gets thrown away.

For example:

Fruits and vegetables that spoil
Bread that becomes stale
Cooked meals not eaten
Meat, dairy, rice, pasta that go bad
Food thrown away after its “best-before” date

This type usually occurs due to overbuying, improper storage, and cooking too much.

Unavoidable Food Waste (Inedible Food Waste)

Parts of food that people normally don’t eat.

Examples:

Banana peels
Eggshells
Bones
Coffee grounds
Nut shells
Onion skins
Corn cobs
Fish heads (unless used in stock)

These are often valuable for compost or anaerobic digestion.