Global Food Waste Equals 30 Years of Drinking Water per Person, Warns WWF North Africa
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in North Africa has sounded the alarm on social media: global food waste represents a colossal squandering of resources equivalent to 30 years of drinking water for every inhabitant of the planet. Roughly one‑third of the world’s food production ends up in landfills, a phenomenon with disastrous environmental consequences.
Beyond the sheer loss of food, WWF stresses that this waste devours astronomical quantities of water, energy, and human labour, while also aggravating climate change. As food waste decomposes, it becomes a major source of harmful emissions that pollute the environment and drive up temperatures.
The scale of the ecological disaster
- Water savings: Eliminating food waste could save about 250 million billion litres of water – the equivalent of three decades of potable‑water consumption for the entire human population.
- Energy savings: The energy that would be spared is enough to power more than one billion households for an entire year.
- Land preservation: Avoiding waste would also prevent the conversion of vast natural areas into agricultural land. WWF estimates that forested land equal to 2.6 million football fields (≈ 18 919 km²) could be preserved.
What can be done?
WWF North Africa calls for simple yet effective actions:
“Reusing food and cutting excess can make a real difference for protecting the environment,” the organization urges, advocating for smart, responsible food utilisation that benefits both consumers and the planet.
Read also: Tunisia: the food‑trade surplus doubles to 425 MD in January 2026
Source: WWF North Africa, posted on social media; article originally published on La Presse (Feb 23 2026).
