Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Minimise Food Waste and Enhance Global Food Security

Food insecurity in the world remains a problem even with increased agricultural productivity, mainly because there are inefficiencies and waste within the food supply chain. Every year, it has been estimated that one-third of all the foodstuffs produced to be used by humans as food is lost or wasted; hence, a major impediment towards attaining Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger. This paper examines how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be used to reduce the amount of food waste and to provide better food security to the world. It discusses AI-based applications like predictive analytics to forecast demand, computer vision to check food quality, machine learning to optimise the supply chain, and smart inventory management systems used in retail and logistics. The study emphasises the effect of AI applications on real-time decision-making, minimising post-harvest losses, and efficiency in production, processing, and consumption. Moreover, it addresses the concept of implementing AI with the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) to increase traceability, transparency, and sustainability in food systems. The results highlight the fact that AI application has challenges associated with data infrastructure, cost, and ethical concerns, but have a huge transformative potential in terms of food waste reduction, as well as in enhancing access to nutritious food. The paper concludes that the artificial use of AI can be used to instigate a healthier, more productive, and just worldwide food system.