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The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, says that between 30% and 50% of this total, amounting to 1.2 to 2 billion tonnes, never gets eaten.
In the UK, up to 30% of vegetable crops are not harvested because their physical appearance fails to meet the exacting demands of consumers.
Half the food purchased in Europe and the US is thrown away after it is bought, the report adds.
Vast quantities of water are also wasted in global food production, it is claimed.
Around 550 billion cubic metres of water is used to grow crops that never reach the consumer, according to the report.
The demand for water in food production could reach 10 to 13 trillion cubic metres a year by 2050, the institution said.
This is up to 3.5 times greater than the total amount of fresh water used by humans today, raising the spectre of dangerous water shortages.
This is food that could be used to feed the world’s growing population – as well as those in hunger today.
It is also an unnecessary waste of the land, water and energy resources that were used in the production, processing and distribution of this food.
By 2075 the United Nations predicts that the world’s population will reach around 9.5 billion, resulting in an extra three billion mouths to feed.