(CNN/WSAW) – It’s something we do often, and never think anything about, leaving unwanted food on our plate, but a new report shows that doing that could cause problems in the future. The report says that more than one billion meals are wasted worldwide every day, while 800 million people are going hungry across the globe. The conclusion comes from The United Nations Food Waste Index Report. Inside the report’s data, one-point five billion metric tons of food went to waste in 2022. Households were responsible for 60% of that amount.

The food service industry is on the hook for nearly 30%. The UN’S report finds that for the average person every year, roughly 174-pounds of food ends up in the trash can instead of a stomach. There are also environmental effects with food waste. Researchers say most thrown-out food ends up in a landfill, which generates the greenhouse gas methane as it decomposes.

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