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April 28, 2025 | 1 min to read
Wasted food poses a significant challenge, with over 1 billion tonnes discarded in 2022, costing the global economy around $1.2 trillion in 2020, as highlighted by the U.N. Environment Program and the World Bank. Entrepreneur Chloe Stewart became aware of this issue during her travels, expressing anger over the wastefulness she observed in cities like Beijing and Boston. She believes it is "criminal" not to better utilize food destined for landfills.
Wasted food is a big problem. More than 1 billion tonnes was thrown away in 2022 by households, retailers and food service companies, according to figures published by the U.N.’s Environment Program in 2024. It’s expensive too: The World Bank estimated that lost or wasted food cost $1.2 trillion in 2020.
It’s an issue that food entrepreneur Chloe Stewart first became aware of as a young adult traveling to different parts of the world. Seeing plates piled high in places like Beijing and Boston and having a sense that “there’s no way someone’s going to finish all that” made her angry, she said.
“This is actually criminal, the fact that we’re not mandated to find better use for the food that’s ending up in landfill,” she said in a video call with CNBC.
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