This is much more than is thrown away by households (631m tonnes), food service (290m tonnes) or retail (131m tonnes).

And it’s getting worse. If nothing changes, by 2040 factory farms could need double the grain we currently use.

We’ve released a powerful interactive tool which shows the scale of the problem in key countries.

Environmental damage

The report highlights how this wasteful system is also devastating our planet. Vast areas of land (thousands of hectares) are cleared to grow crops to feed animals which drives deforestation, kills nature and harms local communities.

The huge demand for grain as animal feed has also led to the expansion of monocultures. And the use of chemical pesticides and synthetic nitrogen fertilisers is degrading soil and polluting our air and water.

Peter Stevenson, our Chief Policy Advisor, said:

It is simply scandalous that while hundreds of millions of people go hungry and we face a triple planetary crisis, we are allowing hundreds of millions of tonnes of food to be wasted every year by being fed to factory farmed animals.

As well as being the world’s biggest form of animal cruelty, fuelling climate change and killing nature, factory farming wastes food on a colossal scale, undermining global food security.  

Governments must stop propping up wasteful grain-based factory farming with public money through subsidies and adopt fair policies that prioritise food over feed.

Take action

We must end this colossal waste and build a food system that feeds people, protects animals and our planet.

Discover why transforming the global food system is urgent—and how businesses can lead the way to a sustainable future.

Factory farming: the world’s biggest cause of food waste