Posthaste: Nearly half of all Canada’s food is wasted, report finds

Environmental and financial costs called ‘staggering’ in light of food affordability crisis

Published Oct 23, 2024 • Last updated 3 hours ago • 4 minute read

Second Harvest said best before dates are the cause of 23 per cent of food waste, even though most dates are general guidelines for freshness and taste, not product safety. Photo by Getty Images

Nearly half of all food destined for Canadian kitchens is wasted, according to a new report, and that’s hurting both consumer pocketbooks and companies’ bottom lines.

Avoidable food waste, or food that can still be eaten or donated to those in need, accounts for 41.7 per cent of all food waste, amounting to $58 billion a year in lost value, according to Second Harvest’s The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste: Update report.

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“The environmental and financial costs of food waste are staggering, especially in light of the current food affordability crisis,” Lori Nikkel, chief executive of Second Harvest, said in a news release. “We must act now and work together to reduce food waste at every level.”

The report is an update to 2019 research that said nearly 60 per cent of Canadian food was wasted, with recoverable wasted food amounting to $49.5 billion.

“The 2019 report sounded the alarm on food waste in Canada, and while we’ve seen some improvements, it’s hardly cause for celebration when we continue to waste almost half of our food,” Nikkel said.

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Second Harvest said best before dates are the cause of 23 per cent of food waste, even though most dates are general guidelines for freshness and taste, not product safety.

“Businesses sometimes use (best before dates) to drive sales, causing consumers to replace food that’s still perfectly good and edible,” the report said.

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Businesses should be enticed to come up with solutions to food waste as well. The report indicates that a one per cent drop in food waste for a business can translate to four per cent in extra revenue.

Second Harvest suggests making policy tweaks to rename “best before” dates to “best enjoyed by” or “manufactured on,” or to remove them altogether on products with a shelf life of more than 90 days.

It also wants to encourage businesses to donate food instead of throwing it away by using tax incentives for donated food and for businesses to clearly track just how much food they are throwing out.

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As Canada job vacancies dry up, many young Canadians are left on the outside of employment.

Statistics Canada report job vacancies declined 9.2 per cent in the second quarter and as Canada’s unemployment rate is climbing, 80 per cent of the growth is from Canadians under the age of 35, including students and graduates who can’t find a job.

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Today’s Posthaste was written by Ben Cousins, with additional reporting from Financial Post staff, The Canadian Press and Bloomberg.

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