Australians are throwing away a staggering 7.6 million tonnes of food every year, worth $36.6 billion – or $2500 per family – while millions of families are grappling with growing living costs. This is the reality facing the country as the 2024 National Food Waste Summit gets underway in Melbourne today.
End Food Waste Australia CEO, Dr Steven Lapidge, said those figures equate to 29 million meals going to waste every day.
“That’s enough to provide lunch daily to every Australian, when we are seeing 3.7 million households are struggling to put food on the table. For families, food waste costs $2500 a year on average,” Lapidge said.
“Food waste happens from paddock to plate and 70 per cent of it is still edible. We’re bringing industry, government and Australians together to end food waste,” he said.
The two-day event, on 24-25 July, at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre comes at the midway point of Australia's food waste action plan – six years since the launch of the National Food Waste Strategy and six years to go until the 2030 target.
ABC’s Gardening Australia host, Costa Georgiadis, will MC the summit and Craig Reucassel from ABC’s War on Waste is delivering the keynote.
As well as local experts and industry leaders, international heavyweights like Dana Gunders from ReFED in the US, and EU food waste project leader, Toine Timmermans, will be sharing the latest from around the world.
Coles, Simplot, Sodexo, McCain Foods, and Goodman Fielder will share their insights on being an Australian Food Pact signatory and the impact it has. To date it has helped businesses save up to $4000 per tonne of food waste reduced.
There will be a showcase of innovative and forward-thinking solutions like food waste-free cities, packaging to extend shelf life and innovative companies like Nutri V transforming waste streams into nutritious and delicious snacks, all demonstrating how technology and creativity can transform our approach to food.
The environmental impact of food waste is massive, accounting for around three per cent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. Halving food waste in Australia by 2030 could prevent 50 million tonnes of CO2 emissions – the equivalent of removing half the vehicles from Australian roads for a year.
“Australia’s food waste doesn’t just burn a hole in our pockets – it’s an environmental disaster. The resources squandered are mind-boggling. It’s crunch time, with the cost-of-living crisis bringing the need for action into sharp focus. We’re halfway through our plan to halve food waste by 2030. This summit is crucial,” Lapidge said.
“With the right moves, we can cut waste, save billions of dollars, and make sure every Aussie has enough to eat. There’s no time to waste, ending food waste starts with us all,” he said.
