Reducing food loss and waste is essential in a world where the number of people affected by hunger has been rising slowly since 2014, and tonnes upon tonnes of edible food are lost and/or wasted every day.

Food loss and waste undermine the sustainability of our food systems. When food is lost or wasted, all the resources used to produce it - including water, land, energy, labour and capital - are wasted too. In addition, disposing of lost and wasted food in landfills produces greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate change. Food loss and waste can also harm food security and food availability and drive up the cost of food.

On 29 September - the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) - the European Food Information Council (EUFIC) launched a one-month food waste campaign, together with a new quiz on Evaluate Your Food Waste Practices!

The quiz (also available in Spanish, Italian, French and German) provides personalised tips encouraging people to take simple steps at home. It's intended to help identify what kind of information they need to reduce the amount of food they waste. Once people have a better understanding of how to reduce food waste, they'll (hopefuly!) feel empowered to act.