Government urges supermarkets to cut food waste by half
The UK government is calling for supermarkets and restaurants to reduce their food waste for a more sustainable future.
The goal is for the UK to halve its food waste by 2030 to be in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The government appointed Food Surplus and Waste Champion Ben Elliot said:
“Wasting food is an environmental, moral and financial scandal. We intend for the symposium to spark action, not just conversation, and inspire us all to champion change.
“It’s time to Step up to the Plate.”
Elliot was appointed the role in December by environment secretary Michael Gove to cut down the UK’s 10.2 million tonnes of food wasted each year.
Next week, he will lead a symposium called “Step up to the Plate” where attendees are expected to sign several commitments on measuring and reducing their food waste.
Gove thanked Elliot for bringing together “the biggest players from the world of food to commit to tackling food waste.
“Together, we must end the moral, economic, and environmental scandal of food waste.
“The UK is showing real leadership in this area, but I urge businesses to join me in signing the pledge so we can bring about real change.”
Marcus Gover, Chief Executive WRAP, said:
“With climate change firmly in the political and social spotlight, it is worth reminding ourselves that unless we fix the world’s food system we will not be able to bring about the reduction in global warming we need to halt the damage to our planet.
“We need to wake up to the amount of food we waste as a nation and take action in our daily lives to stop throwing perfectly good food away.”
Alongside direct calls for the reduction of food waste, there are measures to increase awareness.
In November 2019, a food conservation awareness week will take place to highlight the changes that people can make to help achieve sustainability goals.
Roughly 250 million meals a year are edible but go uneaten.
Much of the surplus that has not reached the consumer is sent to anaerobic digestion to generate energy or turned into animal feed.
People are encouraged only to buy what they need and to eat as much of the food that they buy as possible.
