Britain: The World's Most Wasteful Nation

Taken from The Daily Mail, 17th March 2007
by SEAN POULTER

Britons waste more food than any other nation in the world, with an official study showing a third of what we buy ends up in the bin. The food waste mountain is 6.7million tonnes a year, according to research from a government watchdog. Around half the total is made up of fruit, vegetables, meat, bread and dairy produce that could have been eaten.

A former UK government advisor yesterday condemned the waste as 'an outrage'. Lord Haskins pointed a finger at supermarkets for their cut-price promotions which encourage customers to buy in bulk. And he criticised 'indulgent' consumers for making impulse purchases of food they are unlikely to eat. The annual value of food thrown away is put at £460 per head, which equates to a staggering £23billion a year. For a typical family of four, this means food worth around £35 is going into the bin every week.

Food waste now accounts for almost a fifth - 19 per cent - of our domestic waste, which is up from 17 per cent two years ago. The figures come from the government's waste reduction body - WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme). It said that around half the 6.7million tonnes of food waste is peelings, bones, chicken carcasses and items such as teabags. However, this leaves around 3.3million tonnes made up of left-overs, dairy products, meat, fish, ready-meals, bread and cakes.

Lord Haskins, a former Labour peer, said: 'Our record on waste is the worst in the world. It may be hard to believe, but we waste more food per head in this country than the Americans do. It is an outrage. The reason is that we buy more fresh and chilled produce, which spoils relatively quickly.

'We are also so neurotic about bugs that we chuck things out immediately they go over the best-before date, which is often unnecessary.

'We are also every bit as self-indulgent as the Americans, in terms of buying food on the spur of the moment.'

Lord Haskins, a former chairman of Northern Foods, a supplier to supermarkets, said the waste in the home is just part of the picture. Huge amounts of fruit and vegetables are junked because they do not meet the 'beauty pageant' standards demanded by supermarkets.

Also a lot of meat is trimmed and thrown away in order 'to make packs appear pretty on the shelf '. He said: 'The reality is that we lose around half the food we set out to produce.'

The policy by supermarkets to run bargain promotions, such as buy-onegetone-free, is fuelling the problem, he added. 'The notion of buying something because you get extra free, only then to put it in the bin, is a cultural thing,' he said. 'We need to see a total change in attitudes.

'In the past we looked at this problem around the idea of why can't we get this food to poor people? The fact is that is completely impractical.

'But if you put this issue in the context of a waste of energy and the creation of carbon, with the associated huge problems of climate change for future generations, then I think you have a chance to make a change.

'It is not going to be painless. People will need to reassess their priorities.'

A huge increase in single person households is one factor behind the problem. Single people, particularly pensioners, routinely have to buy portions that are too large to finish before going off.

Chief executive of WRAP, Jennie Price, said: ' Our research has found that about half of the food we throw away could have been eaten.

'There is a real opportunity here for us to both save some money and help the environment by making a few small changes.'

The research has led to calls for supermarkets to help shoppers choose sensible portion sizes. WRAP suggests stores should, for example, come up with new seals for bags of salad that keep the contents fresh for longer. It also says that supersize economy packs of fresh foods, which are sold at bargain prices, should be sub-divided into portions that can be stored. The organisation says supermarkets and shoppers should consider a return to more frozen food, where waste is significantly reduced.

WRAP says families also need to ensure their fridges are running at cold enough temperatures after research evidence that 70per cent are too warm. The ideal temperature range is 1-5C, however many run at 7.

The British Retail Consortium, which speaks for supermarkets, argues that bulk-buy discounts on perishable foods should be seen as a positive. 'Stores are able to see which perishable goods are close to their sell-by date and will run two for one offers to make sure they are sold,' said a spokesman. 'Hopefully, they will then be consumed, rather than thrown away.

'Retailers have always offered discounts for buying in greater quantity. Consumers expect to get a discount for bulk buying. In general smaller portions will cost more because there are higher packaging costs.' He added: 'Retailers aim to offer a full range to consumers. Some people have big families or big appetites, others don't.'

The Food & Drink Federation said: 'We are doing our part to tackle waste. We have done a lot of work to create more single and small portion sizes to reflect the changes in the make-up of households. In the end it is down to consumers to exercise choice.' The federation said shoppers should not eat perishable foods which are past their use-by date as this can be dangerous. However, she said people can eat such foods after their 'best before' date.

Friends of the Earth campaigner Anna Watson said: 'It is shocking to see how much food we throw away. This food mainly ends up in landfill sites where it releases methane, a powerful climate change gas.'