Food loss and waste awareness day puts forests at the centre

Tuesday, 29 September 2026, marks the seventh International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, a UN observance focused this year on the links between wasted food, forests and sustainable agrifood systems.

Co-convened by the UN Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization, the main event will run from 12:30 to 14:00 CEST at the Sheikh Zayed Centre at FAO Headquarters in Rome. Participants can attend in person or online. The programme is taking place during the 28th session of the FAO Committee on Forestry and World Forest Week, bringing forestry perspectives into the discussion.

The theme is “Transformative Potential of Reducing Food Loss and Waste”. FAO describes the opportunity as a triple win: stronger food security and nutrition, less pressure on natural resources and emissions, and higher productivity and growth.

UNEP says food loss and waste place avoidable pressure on land, water and the climate. Agricultural expansion remains the leading driver of deforestation, so reducing losses and waste can help ease demand for land and other natural resources. It can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support more resilient agrifood systems.

The observance is intended to raise awareness of the environmental, economic and social impacts of food loss and waste while advancing Sustainable Development Goal 12.3. That goal addresses food loss and waste across production, supply chains and consumption.

The UN General Assembly established 29 September as the international day through resolution 74/209, adopted on 19 December 2019. This year’s Rome programme places that awareness effort alongside practical questions for forests and food systems: how to use resources more efficiently, protect ecosystems and make food production more resilient. It also encourages practical cooperation across the food chain and forest sector.