Visualizing global food production, waste, and insecurity.
Global agricultural productivity has steadily increased Farm output has nearly tripled between 1948 and 2017, driven by growth in Total Factor Productivity (TFP) at an annual rate of 1.47%.
Yet despite this abundance, over 850 million people remain food insecure today. This project explores how improved food distribution and reduced waste could help bridge this imbalance.
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Instructions: Click on a continent node to the left below to explore its share of
food production, waste, and insecurity. Reset the visualizations to global data using the "Reset to Global" button.
Note: The data for "Solve Food Insecurity" is calculated by multiplying the average amount of food a person needs per year by the number of food insecure people in that region or globally. Although, proportionally, more food is consumed than wasted, by viewing the per continent data, we see that the amount of food wasted far exceeds the amount needed to solve food insecurity for all continents except for Africa.
Not all food waste is equal. Some loss comes from inedible parts like peels or shells, but much of it includes edible, nutrient-rich food that could have met real dietary needs.
Examining waste by food group reveals where inefficiencies lie and which foods contribute most to avoidable waste. This is especially relevant as production efficiency continues to rise; understanding what’s wasted helps us decide where to expand or reduce future production efforts to reduce overall waste.
Research shows that food waste often mirrors overall production — the items we produce most are also those we waste most (source). This highlights systemic inefficiency in how food is grown, distributed, and consumed.
Analyzing waste alongside recommended dietary intake helps identify areas of imbalance: some categories (like grains or fruits) show waste levels far exceeding what’s needed for nutrition, suggesting overproduction. Others (like dairy or protein) remain below recommended levels, revealing potential nutritional shortfalls despite overall abundance.
Understanding these dynamics informs future strategies for more balanced and sustainable food systems.