By: Prof. Dr. Mohsen Mohammad Saleh.
The value of food wasted and discarded across Arab countries in just one year is not only sufficient to resolve the famine crisis in the Gaza Strip (GS) or to support its reconstruction, it could also make significant strides toward the liberation of Jerusalem and Palestine!! according to objective statistical analysis. To put this in perspective: the steadfast resistance that shocked the world for over 470 days and inflicted heavy military, economic and political losses on Israel… operated on a budget that never exceeded a few hundred million dollars. Meanwhile, the value of food and edible leftovers wasted in the Arab world surpassed $150 billion in 2024!! Over 150 times the amount spent by the resistance.
This article will not address the tens of billions of dollars squandered on smoking, nor the vast sums spent on entertainment, leisure, music, and player transfers… Nor will it examine the staggering cost of Trump’s visit to the region (approximately $3.2 trillion) which could not only fund Gaza’s budget for nearly a millennium but might also suffice to dismantle the Zionist project at its roots. However, our discussion will be limited exclusively to the issue of food waste.
Food Waste in the Arab World
The Food Waste Index Report 2024, published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), identifies Arab countries as among the world’s highest contributors to food waste. According to the report (and also using figures from the World Population Review website’s section on Food Waste) a simple calculation of discarded food remnants and wasted food totals approximately 59.68 million tons.
According to the report, food waste in Egypt reached 18.1 million tons in 2024, with an annual rate of 155 kg/ capita. In Iraq, waste totaled 6.4 million tons, or 138 kg/ capita. Saudi Arabia (KSA) recorded 3.8 million tons, with 112 kg/ capita; Algeria, 5.1 million tons at 108 kg/ capita; and Morocco, 4.2 million tons at 111 kg/ capita. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) reported 930 thousand tons, averaging 99 kg/ capita, while Tunisia recorded 2.1 million tons, around 173 kg/ capita. In Kuwait, waste amounted to 420 thousand tons, averaging 99 kg/ capita, and in Jordan, 1.1 million tons, 98 kg/ capita. Notably, several countries saw sharp increases in food waste in 2024 compared to 2021. Egypt rose from 82 kg/ capita in 2021, Iraq from 109 kg/ capita, and Tunisia from 88 kg/ capita. These jumps may reflect improvements or changes in data collection and analysis methods, yet they do not diminish the scale of waste recorded in either year.
It is not possible to cover all Arab countries in this article. However, those interested may refer to a comparative statistical overview between 2024 and 2021 available on the World Population Review website, under the section on Food Waste. It is worth noting that discrepancies exist between this data and the Food Waste Index published by the United Nations Environment Programme. Some sources may also provide conflicting estimates, possibly due to differences in the timing of the statistics used or the methodologies employed in data collection and analysis. In this context, we have relied on the sources considered to be the most accurate and widely recognized internationally.
Based on available sources, food waste in KSA is estimated to have cost around 40 billion Saudi Riyal (approximately $10.65 billion), and in the UAE, around $3.5 billion. However, there are no comprehensive statistics on food waste costs in many other Arab countries. Using the Saudi figure as a statistical benchmark, the cost per ton of wasted food would be approximately $2,800. Assuming that the per-ton cost varies across countries, and adjusting the regional average to around $2,500 to better reflect conditions in other Arab countries, the total cost of food waste in 2024—estimated at 59.68 million tons—would amount to roughly $149.2 billion. This is an astonishing figure by any measure.
Analytical Reading:
The preceding information highlights several key points that warrant consideration:
First: The official Arab environment bears significant responsibility for the widespread food waste in Arab countries. Most of these states promote a consumerist culture, equating “progress” with “luxury” and excess, reinforcing this association through powerful media and cultural institutions, while failing to implement effective policies to curb extravagance and waste. On the contrary, some actively suppress efforts to cultivate Islamic and nationalist sentiments in opposition to the Zionist project and in support of the Palestinian people.
At the same time, several Arab regimes boast of having gone above and beyond in supporting Palestine. However, a simple comparison of available figures reveals a stark reality: the financial aid provided by any single Arab country over the past two decades does not equal, even for one year, the value of food discarded in its waste!!
For instance, the total official support extended by one major wealthy Arab state, widely considered the most generous toward Palestine, amounted over 22 years (1999–2020) to approximately $3.925 billion, with an additional $850 million allocated to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). This brings the total to $4.775 billion, less than half the value of food wasted in that country in a single year.
Likewise, for most Arab countries, the financial support given to Palestine over the past fifty years does not exceed the value of food thrown away in just one year.
On the other hand, some Arab states have profited from normalizing relations with Israel by providing a land-based food supply route that meets Israeli needs, even as Israel imposes starvation on GS. At the same time, other states have restricted public donations, confining them to narrow and ineffective official channels, and have shut down or besieged charitable organizations. In some cases, popular activism for Palestine has been transformed from an “honor” into a “crime,” exposing those involved to persecution and imprisonment!!
Second: Arab populations bear significant responsibility for food waste, as over 60% of discarded food comes from households that throw away leftovers. Regrettably, food waste tends to increase during the holy month of Ramadan, with estimates indicating that more than 50% of prepared food is wasted in several Arab countries during this period.
Within Arab societies, particularly at the family and household level, traits such as generosity and goodwill often become entangled with negative behaviors like extravagance, poor judgment, and superficial displays of affluence during banquets, celebrations and social gatherings. Some of these behaviors appeared to have been curbed during the Operation al-Aqsa Flood events, resulting in a temporary reduction in food waste. However, this moderation was short-lived and failed to evolve into a lasting cultural or habitual shift. As a result, the statistics for 2024 continued to reflect a consumerist culture that far exceeds global averages.
Despite the overwhelming public sympathy for Palestine across the Arab world—marked by near-unanimous support for the resistance, rejection of normalization, and widespread anger and frustration toward official policies—any comparative statistical reading between public donations and the scale of “popular” food waste reveals that donations remain remarkably low relative to waste. While official obstacles, including government-imposed barriers and state-controlled media, may have played a role, the level of practical support remains limited when compared to popular social behavior and everyday life. In other words, the culture of “waste” has not significantly shifted in favor of a culture of “support.”
Third: Our Arab countries and societies, especially those blessed with natural resources, have suffered from attempts to leap directly from backwardness to luxury, bypassing the gradual process of cultural and civilizational advancement. They have been preoccupied with fostering consumerist and extravagant environments before “building the human being” capable of confronting the challenges threatening the homeland and the Ummah (Muslim nation). If we consider that the region has endured centuries of fragmentation, colonization, and harmful customs, the inevitable outcome is the perpetuation of a weak, lazy consumer mentality—an individual who evades responsibility and is absorbed by superficial luxury, entertainment and comfort.
Towards Effective Support:
When we speak of Arab support for Palestine and its people, it is framed as a duty; one that carries no reminders of generosity or injury, nor is it driven merely by sympathy or pity. It is a religious Islamic obligation, a national duty, and a collective responsibility in the face of a Zionist project targeting Arab and Muslim vital interests and the security of their countries, both nationally and regionally, while seeking to impose dominance over the region. It is also a human and civilizational duty.
Supporting the resistance in Palestine and confronting the Zionist project is fundamentally linked to a genuine sense of responsibility, which must be practically applied across all aspects of life. It requires a comprehensive reordering of our livelihood and daily behavior to align with the unified revival project.
Confronting the Zionist project requires a fundamental reassessment of the jurisprudence of priorities and calamities. It calls for rejecting luxury, one of the clearest signs of civilizational decline, and embracing the jurisprudence of “hardship and austerity,” which is essential for civilizational revival. This entails adopting a disciplined, creative and earnest way of life that manages resources and wealth optimally.
Finally, change can begin at the personal and family levels by deepening our engagement with the Palestine issue, and the broader issues facing the Ummah, especially with Gaza, which is starving. This can start by altering our consumption habits: stopping food waste, donating what is saved or its monetary equivalent, or observing fasting and austerity on designated days and donating the equivalent value to support GS. Such efforts help meet urgent needs and ease the suffering of the Ummah’s people everywhere.
Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations, 27/5/2025
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