UNDERSTANDING HUNGER

IN BRAZIL, 8.7 MILLION PEOPLE GO HUNGRY¹!

Do you know how big this is?

IT'S THE SAME AS 110 PACKED MARACANÃS!

Still, 64 million Brazilians suffer from some degree of food insecurity². But even if there was just one person who didn’t have enough to eat, we’d still have a problem. After all, food is a human right³.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FOOD INSECURITY AND HUNGER?

Mild food
insecurity

Mild food insecurity

When the person is worried or unsure whether they will have food in the future, and when they give up quality in order not to compromise on quantity.

Moderate food insecurity

Moderate food insecurity

when you have to buy or eat less, or change your eating habits

Severe food insecurity (hunger)

Severe food insecurity (hunger)

This is when you don't have any food or the money to buy it, or when you only eat one meal a day - or even worse, when you go a day or more without eating anything.

Food
safety

Food safety

When a person is food secure, it means that they have regular and permanent access to food of sufficient quality and quantity, without compromising access to other essential needs, such as their home, their bills, etc.

But the reality in brazil is very different. Unfortunately, hunger has been with us for centuries. It’s a complex problem, with deep and diverse roots, which has yet to be resolved.

HUNGER IN BRAZIL HAS AN ADDRESS, COLOR AND GENDER.

More than half of the households living with hunger are in the north and northeast.

Hunger is 2.4 times higher among people with no schooling than Those with completed secondary education.

31.7% of female-headed households are exposed to hunger. In those where the man is responsible, the rate is 23.2%.

Black households are 2.2 times more likely to live with hunger than white households.

3 out of 10 Brazilian families live with some degree of food insecurity.

Hunger is 4.3 times higher among unemployed people compared to who has a job.

Rural households are 1.4 times more likely to suffer from hunger than the urban.

UNDERSTANDING FOOD WASTE

At the same time as thousands of people don’t know when and if they will have enough to eat, we are experiencing an incoherence: we are one of the world’s five largest food producers, and one of the 10 countries where the most food is wasted.

Brazil produces 161.3 million tons of food a year.

It is estimated that of this total, 55.4 million tons are wasted every year, from the field to the consumer’s home.

EQUALS 2 MILLION HEAVY TRUCKS!

We cannot allow so much food to be wasted while thousands don’t know if they will have enough to eat.

There is still no official, integrated methodology for analyzing waste at every link in the food chain in Brazil. Therefore, seeing the size of the problem and measuring the impact of each stage is a challenge.

THE JOURNEY OF WASTE
FROM FIELD TO PLATE

17,3 MILLION TONS

31,2%

10,8 MILLION TONS

19,5%

11,9 MILLION TONS

21,5%

7,9 MILLION TONS

14,3%

7,5 MILLION TONS

13,5%

IN TOTAL, 55.4 MILLION TONS OF FOOD ARE WASTED EVERY YEAR.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF WASTE?

  • Climatic factors such as droughts and heavy rains;
  • Pests;
  • Poor production and cultivation practices;
  • Old or malfunctioning machinery, equipment and installations;
  • Transport conditions;
  • Logistics problems;
  • Inefficient storage;
  • Inadequate packaging;
  • Incorrect handling of food;
  • Disposal of “ugly” or defective food;
  • Lack of planning

At the consumer stage, food waste is more associated with behavioral issues. A survey carried out in 2018 by Embrapa in partnership with the Getúlio Vargas Foundation reveals some traits in the habits and customs of Latin culture that explain why food often ends up in the garbage can.

Of the 1,746 Brazilian families interviewed:

  • 77% think it’s important that the food is fresh
  • 68% think it’s important to have a full pantry
  • 61% prefer to make one big “purchase of the month”
  • 59% don’t care if there’s too much food
  • 52% consider it important to have plenty

Lugar de comida é no prato

Quer saber como você pode contribuir para reduzir o desperdício de alimentos no seu dia a dia? Baixe o guia gratuito “Lugar de Comida é no Prato”.

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Food waste generates environmental impacts in the whole production chain, whether through the intensive use of land and water resources, the emission of greenhouse gases, the intensification of biodiversity loss or the generation of waste.

Food waste is responsible for 8-10% of global ghg emissions – 5 times more than emissions from the aviation sector.

In this process, 1/3 of agricultural land is used.

Hunger is a structural problem caused by many different factors. That’s why we know it can’t be solved by reducing food waste.

AFTER ALL, HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO THROW AWAY SO MUCH FOOD WHILE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE GO HUNGRY?

It’s time to join forces to transform this reality and build a future in which no Brazilian go hungry!

Overcoming this challenge is neither simple nor easy. It requires joint and coordinated action between governments, companies and citizens.

This pact starts here. Shall we do it together?

FOOD THAT GOES TO WASTE ALSO IMPACTS THE CLIMATE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

PRESS CONTACT

  • imprensa@pactocontrafome.org

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