Along with food loss and waste, billions of cubic meters of water used in the production process are also lost in Türkiye. The updated version of the study published by the Water Policies Association in 2020 under the title “Water Going to Waste” was announced to the public the other day under the name “Our Water Going to Waste”. Dursun Yıldız, President of the Water Policy Association, one of the retired managers of DSI, and Dr. In the report prepared by Hasan Hüseyin Doğan, the impact of food loss and waste on water resources was strikingly revealed. The association revealed that in the past six years, the pressure of climate change on water and land resources has increased, and water, food and environmental security have increasingly begun to be considered as a national security issue.
28 MILLION TONS OF LOSS AND WASTE
In the calculation in the report, the annual fruit and vegetable loss in Türkiye was stated as approximately 15 million tons, and the annual food waste was stated as 13 million tons. Thus, the total estimated food loss and waste was calculated as 28 million tons. In the calculation made based on the water footprint of the products going to waste, an average value of 950 liters of water per kilogram was taken as basis. As a result of this calculation The total annual water footprint of food loss and waste in Türkiye was estimated to be 26.6 billion cubic meters. It was also stated that the total annual water use in Türkiye is 61.7 billion cubic meters, of which 48.7 billion cubic meters is used for agricultural irrigation.
BREAD WASTE SHOULD BE PREVENTED
Another loss highlighted in the report is due to bread waste. It is accepted that approximately 1300-1600 liters of water are used to produce one kilogram of bread in Türkiye. With 0.7 million per year Based on the calculation that 1 million tons of bread is wasted and approximately 1.5 cubic meters of water is used per kilogram, it is estimated that the annual water footprint of bread waste alone is between 1 and 1.5 billion cubic meters.. According to the report, this amount approximately corresponds to the total water supplied to Istanbul and Ankara in a year.
THE LOSS IN FRUIT AND VEGETABLES IS GREAT
One of the largest shares of food waste is in fruits and vegetables. According to the data included in the report, 25 to 40 percent of the approximately 49 million tons of fruits and vegetables grown in Türkiye in a year are lost at various stages. According to data based on TÜBİTAK research, the amount of wasted vegetables and fruits is approximately 12 million tons. On the other hand, the report stated According to TÜİK data, the most wasted food group in households in 2025 was fresh fruits and vegetables with 39.7 percent.. Bread ranked second with 32.5 percent. The share of milk and dairy products was calculated as 15.1 percent, and the share of dried legumes was 5.9 percent. The share of pasta and meat and meat products remained at 2.7 percent each.
HUGE FIGURES
Water Policy Association President Dursun Yıldız, in his statement regarding the report, stated that 26.6 billion cubic meters of water is lost in Türkiye in a year due to total food loss and waste, and that this corresponds to approximately one-fourth of the water used in agricultural production.Türkiye’s annual technically and economically usable surface and groundwater potential is approximately 112 billion cubic meters. The annual amount of usable water per person is approximately 1300 cubic meters. “This value brings Türkiye to the level considered among countries experiencing water scarcity,” he said.
WASTE MUST STOP
While noting that the pressure on Türkiye’s water resources will increase further in the coming period, Yıldız made the following warnings: “48.7 billion cubic meters of the approximately 61.7 billion cubic meters of water used in Türkiye goes to agricultural irrigation. Therefore, food loss cannot be evaluated only in terms of the monetary value of the product thrown away. We also lose the water, energy, fertilizer, labor and production capacity of the soil used when planting that product in the field. In order for one kilogram of bread to reach the table, approximately 1300 to 1300 thousand cubic meters are used. “It is accepted that between 1600 liters of water is used. There are calculations that between 700 thousand tons and 1 million tons of bread are wasted annually in Türkiye.”
(email protected)
