EU Consumer Waste Now as Big as Food Imports

European consumers now waste as much food as the EU imports, around 58 million tonnes a year, according to a new report.

The value of this discarded food is estimated at €132 billion annually, and its climate footprint accounts for 16 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions from the EU food system.

The European Climate Neutrality Observatory (ECNO), which published the report on July 14, warns that this level of waste reflects a deeper mismatch between consumer behaviour, farming efforts and EU policy — particularly in how subsidies are allocated under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

“We have producers trying alternative models and consumers asking for better options, but political ambition is lagging,” said Natalie Pelekh, agrifood expert at the European Climate Neutrality Observatory (ECNO), speaking to Brussels Signal on July 11.